


Child's Play

by Gaillen



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Attempted kidnapping later, Brief reference to Child Prositution/Child trafficking, Child Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gen, Havocfangs, I also explore a couple of theories with various in game stuff, MTs, Noctis gets turned into a kid, References to several side-quests, because of a NPC/OC, but not really important I guess, cause it's fun, don't worry nothing happens and the NPC/OC gets what's coming to him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27259753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gaillen/pseuds/Gaillen
Summary: In which an encounter with MTs somehow leads up to Noctis being turned back into a four year old child.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 40
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to write one of these and Final Fantasy's magic/status ailments system makes it very easy. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it! Updates may be a little sporadic but I'll do my best. ^^
> 
> Also I giggled over writing the word Maniple in this chapter and I was wondering who in Niflheim choose that name for one of their MT armours.

“Ah! There it is!” Prompto said, pointing. Ignis slowed the Regalia so he could look along the younger man’s arm. 

One of the massive pylons on the right hand side of the road had a giant gondola stalled near the apex. Even with the distance to the pylon they could see the occasional shudder as the gondola jerked, sending worrying vibrations though the heavy steel cables. 

“I believe you are correct,” Ignis said, speeding up. “That must be the one Molly received the malfunction warning from. We’d best do something about it before it causes extensive damage.” 

Prompto agreed, turning to look at the occupants in the back-seat. “Should I wake them, you think?” 

Ignis glanced at the rear view mirror.

Gladiolus and Noctis were both asleep and sprawled across each other in an ungainly mess of limbs.

“We’ll wake them when we park,” Ignis said, focusing his attention back to the road. “Let them sleep until the last possible minute.”

It’d been a long night for the both of them. 

The daemons in the power plant hadn’t been strong, per say, but there had been a lot of them and they’d been rushed to kill the last of them before the power plant detonated. 

Which it hadn't.

Thankfully. 

As soon as the all clear had come from the two, the women of the plant had flooded in and had stopped the imminent meltdown thereby saving the power plant, Lestallum and the entirety of Lucis now solely dependant on the power from Lestallum to stave off the daemons at night. 

The daemons had done damage though and the four of them had spent several hours into the morning helping the women hunt down pressure relief valves in fear that the build-up would cause an explosion or at the very least a fire. 

That should have been the end of it, the power plant workers more than qualified to handle the rest, but then the warning from a malfunctioned pylon on the line between Burbost and Lestallum came through and Molly had no one available to handle the problem. Everyone was tied up in repairing the damage to the power plant and, even if they had anyone, finding a vehicle to get them out to the pylon would take a while. 

They had naturally agreed to undertake the task without hesitation. There was very real fear that everyone in Cleigne could lose their precious power, leaving them vulnerable. 

They couldn’t and wouldn't allow that to happen.

Gladiolus woke abruptly as Ignis pulled over near the trail head. 

He curled instinctively around Noctis as his eyes darted around them. They were in the Regalia and the loud metallic pop he had heard had been Prompto’s door opening. He had heard it though his own door, his ear pressed against the metal. 

He relaxed, loosening his protective grip on Noctis. 

“Wakey wakey, big guy,” Prompto grinned. “We found the pylon.” 

Gladiolus gave a jaw-cracking yawn in response and sat up carefully, shifting Noctis in the process and shaking him lightly. “Wake up, Noct. Work to be done.” 

Noctis groaned, and though it took a moment and a somewhat harder shake from Gladiolus, he opened his eyes. “I don’t feel like I’ve slept enough.”

“You never feel like you sleep enough,” Prompto said, rolling several blueprints up into a tight cylinder and slipping them into the satchel of tools Molly had loaned them.

Noctis made a rude gesture.

Ignis held out a hand to assist Noctis out of the car. “You and Gladio can get some more sleep when we return to Lestallum. It’ll be too late to try for Caem when we’re done here. So the quicker we get done, the quicker you get a bed.” 

“Nice soft hotel beds here we come!” Prompto cheered. Noctis hummed, delightedly, and idly fanned his face with a hand.

It was hot. 

They were still close enough to Lestallum that the heat from the interaction of the power plant’s shard and the remains of the meteor could still be felt. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the sun was directly overhead and its rays were falling relentlessly to Eos’ soil. 

Noctis removed his jacket, throwing it into the back-seat of the Regalia before glancing at the others. 

Ignis had also removed his jacket, leaving it to neatly hang over the headrest of the driver’s seat and was rolling up his sleeves. Prompto, on the other hand, looked perfectly comfortable in his red sleeveless shirt and cargo pants, the only one with the sense to not wear black on an unforgivably sunny day like this. 

Noctis gaze lingered on Gladiolus. He looked as tired as Noctis still felt but Noctis' eyes were more drawn to the bandages that just peeked out from the edges of his dark grey Crownsquard vest and the line of puckered red flesh on his forehead, held together by a neat row of stitches. 

Cor's needle work, he had told them when they had managed to steal a few precious minutes for a private reunion in an empty alleyway. 

The wound on his chest was worst but it was healing and healing faster since Noctis had pressed a hi-potion on him. It would scar, for now the wound was too old for potions to heal it completely, but it would heal and that was what mattered in the end.

The Tempering Grounds, it seemed, had caused a strange effect on Gladiolus' connection to Noctis' magic, not quite cutting him off from the mysterious aether that contained all of their things and the arsenal but not allowing for easy access either. The few potions Gladiolus had managed to conjure hadn't worked as they should of; the distance between the user and the source of the magic – between Gladiolus and Noctis – too great. 

Prompto had tried to make a lame joke and Ignis' eyes had darkened when he looked at him and Noctis had pressed a potion on him with a cold lump in his stomach but Gladiolus hadn't allowed them to wallow in what-ifs for very long, brushing it off with a jest about 'the other guy'. 

Ignis and Prompto led the way up the path without any further ado and Noctis could do nothing but follow, Gladiolus bringing up the rear.

There wasn’t really much a path left any more. No one had been this way in a long time and nature had long since reclaimed the trail. There were patches of grey dirt and thin grass that indicated where the path had been but it was mostly tall grass that reached their knees and made the exposed skin between Noctis’ trousers and boots itch. 

The walk was pleasant – though they had nearly run into a large pack of Havocfangs in the thickets and had only got away without a fight because the animals were too interested in their grisly feast of a Spiracorn foal to take any notice in them – and it wasn’t long before they had reached the base of the pylon. 

“We have to climb this?” Prompto asked, tilting his head back as far as it would go and nearly falling backwards as he stared up the ladder to the slender platform nearly at the crest of the tower. The gondola was still jerking and now that they were closer the sound of it through the heavy steel cables was more frightening.

“We?” Gladiolus echoed. “That platform won’t hold all of us. It’s too small.” 

“That,” Ignis said, adjusting his glasses and pointedly looking away from the platform, “seems to be a very apt assessment. Prompto is the most qualified to work on the machinery in any case and Noctis can go as an extra set of hands.” 

Prompto paled and looked back up at the platform, fidgeting with the strap of the bag across his shoulder. 

Noctis snorted lightly at Ignis’ rather obvious attempt to keep both feet on the ground. Ignis’ acrophobia wasn’t exactly a secret but it wasn’t something any of them talked about either. Noctis could order him up the ladder and Ignis would climb it without a word but Noctis wasn’t cruel and, really, Ignis wasn’t wrong in his assessment.

“Come on, Prompto,” Noctis said. “I’ll be right behind you.” 

Prompto gave him a pleading look but seemed resigned as he immediately placed his foot on the first rung and began climbing. 

The wind grew stronger the higher they went up and Prompto had to stop once or twice to press his forehead against one of the rungs and swallow hard but eventually they were both standing on the steel of the platform. The whole pylon shook and shuddered as the gondola jerked and they really needed to fix that problem first. 

Prompto slipped the bag of tools off his shoulder and crouched beside the pylon’s machinery, locating the panel and prying it open with a screwdriver. He sucked his teeth for a moment before doing _something_ in the panel with the screwdriver and suddenly the gondola’s jerky movements came to a stop. 

Prompto grinned in triumph, sitting back and tapping the screwdriver against his palm as he studied the wires and compared them to the blueprints that Noctis had helpfully spread out for him. 

Noctis left him to it. He didn’t understand the blueprints at all and he’d more than likely just get into Prompto’s way instead of being any help. 

No, better to leave it to the technophile with a head for machinery and assist only if Prompto needed him too. He pulled Prompto’s little spare digital camera out and settled in taking in the glorious view of Ravatogh and of Lestallum from this angle. 

Noctis crossed his arms over the railing and rested his chin on a fist, staring out over the Disc. This would’ve been an excellent location to view the Meteor too if the Meteor hadn’t vanished alongside the Archaean. 

He looked down at the tops of Ignis and Gladiolus' tiny heads. 

They looked to be in deep discussion, Gladiolus leaning against the pylon's ladder as Ignis stood in front of him, arms folded protectively in the way he had never outgrown as a child. Noctis watched him raise a hand, reaching out for Gladiolus carefully before he had caught it and brought it up to press a kiss to Ignis' knuckles. 

There was a humming clank behind him and he turned in time to see the gondola sway gracefully as it made its way along the heavy steel cables towards Lestallum. Prompto practically beamed when he looked at him.

“We’ll have to tell Molly to send someone out here when we get back,” Prompto said, closing the panel and collecting the tools scattered about him. “The wires need a complete overhaul and the fuses are bad corroded but it’ll hold.” He glanced back at the panel dubiously. “Well, for a little while.” 

“At least it's working for now. Guess they don't have enough people to run constant maintenance on all the pylons,” Noctis said, heading towards the ladder. 

“Mmm,” said Prompto and mounted the ladder as Noctis began his descent. 

They had made it a little more than three-fourths of the way down when Prompto heard a faint, low drone carried on the wind. Looping one arm around a ladder rung, he turned to look back towards Lestallum curiously and cursed as he spotted the Imperial drop-ship heading along the road in their direction. 

It would find the Regalia soon, then the Nifs would know that they were nearby and begin searching in earnest.

“Nifs!” he cried, pointing. “Drop-ship at three o'clock!” 

Below him, Noctis also turned to look. 

“Noct! Prompto! Climb down as fast as you can!” Ignis shouted. “You're too vulnerable up there!”

Unfortunately, even though Noctis and Prompto had sped up, the drop-ship reached them before they had managed to reach the ground. The hatch opened and no less than twenty MTs leapt from the drop-ship. Luckily, they were Axemen so at least there was little to no risk of Prompto being shot down from the pylon's ladder.

Noctis summoned his Engine Blade and warped down into the midst of the troop, impaling one of the MTs through the head as he landed on its shoulders before dismissing his blade into the arsenal and flipping away. The MT screeched as it fell and exploded in a puff of electrified smoke. 

Gladiolus was suddenly at his side, swinging his greatsword over Noctis' crouched form and taking out an MT that had charged at him when he had landed. 

“Thanks!” Noctis called, summoning a pole-arm to stab at another. 

“On your left!” Gladiolus responded. Noctis deflected the MT's axe with the haft of his pole-arm and phased out of its reach. Ignis felled it by flipping his daggers into its core with unerring precision. 

Noctis took a moment to look up, gauging Prompto's descent from the pylon. He was close enough to the ground that he had just leapt off and landed with a stumbling crouch when Noctis looked, gun already up and shooting the face-plate off of one of the MTs before he had stood. 

Only, in looking up, Noctis saw another drop-ship beginning to lower itself down enough for another wave of MTs to join the battle. 

“More MTs incoming!” he shouted to the others. 

“What!?” Prompto cried. “More!?”

“Fuck! There's an armour!” 

There was a slight reverberating boom as the armour landed, tearing the ground up beneath its feet. The hydraulics hissed ominously as it straightened, the spindly body and green plating identifying it as a MA-X Maniple class. Accompanying it was another twenty Magitek Axemen that immediately charged into the battle.

Oddly enough, the drop-ship didn't leave directly after dropping its load as it normally would have. Instead it moved away, further up the incline and hovered even lower to the ground. Five more figures dropped from the open hatch before it lifted up and was gone. (Once again not seeming to care that it had nearly destroyed the heavy cables of the pylon as it did so.) 

Noctis didn't have time to question it.

He'd just barely dodged the actuator arm as it punched down at him and followed up the attack by summoning Prompto's massive Auto-Crossbow and laying a bolt into the hydraulics of its right leg. The metal groaned and hissed, twisting under the attack, but the armour plating had kept it from buckling completely and the machine was still moving. 

“You gotta be kidding me!” Prompto cried again, scrambling away from three or four MTs as they ganged up on him. He yelped as the edge of one of the axes caught the back of his leg, tearing through his jeans and slicing into his flesh. 

“Quit bitching and keep fighting!” Gladiolus snarled and put words into action as he swept his greatsword around and lopped off the heads of two MTs. They sparked and screeched, exploding when they struck the ground. 

He backed off slightly to give himself a small respite, breathing hard and reaching up with one hand to press lightly against his chest with a grimace. He had probably needed another day or two of recovery before getting into a battle like this. 

Electricity sparked across the ground and Gladiolus felt the tingle go up through his legs, leaving a strange prickly feeling behind though the rubber of his soles and the magical weaving in his fatigues had greatly lessened the charge. 

Ignis had come to Prompto's aid and had unleashed a thunder spell into the MTs attacking him. Prompto crouched behind him and shattered a potion over his leg before he stood and emptied the entire chambers of his two pistols into another MT. 

Noctis was still distracting the armour, keeping it focused on him until the others could deal with the remaining MTs. 

He warped away from the lumbering machine again, phasing until he was little more than a blue blur as it launched five missiles at him. Noctis' erratic movements had had a purpose it seemed, taking out at least seven MTs in the process and putting distance between him and the Maniple. 

Noctis was going to hit stasis before they had a chance to come to his aid at this point. There were almost half of the MTs left but it would still take them longer to destroy them than they would like.

Gladiolus grunted, summoning a shield and bashing an MT in its face twice before grabbing it by its collar and swinging it into three of its fellows, knocking them all over. He snorted with satisfaction and looked back around at Noctis, determined to at least keep him in his peripheries. Just in case.

Noctis phased again, trying to maintain the distance he had built up between himself and the armour. It seemed to work but then the armour halted in its steady march after him and raised its arm, the disc there spreading out and beginning to take on a red glow. 

Noctis could feel the hair of the back of his neck rise as he felt the build up of electricity in the disc and instantly knew what the armour was about to do. With a curse, he summoned the Auto-Crossbow again and sent another bolt into its right leg. This time the metal buckled and broke, hydraulic fluid splashing in a steaming deluge to the ground beneath it. 

The armour toppled over onto its right side and Noctis gave a feral grin.

It didn't stop the attack though. The arm slammed down and unleashed several thousand volts of electricity into the ground. Noctis warped away to avoid it and landed nearly on top of four Battery Soldiers and a _human_ soldier partially hidden in the thickets. 

The sight of the human soldier startled Noctis so badly that he forgot to dodge the weapons of the Battery Soldiers, swinging up to pistol whip him across the face and chest. 

Okay, that...that had definitely dislocated his nose. 

He cried out as he went down but he rolled with the fall, using the incline to stumble back to his feet. 

There was a moment of absolute confusion.

The pack of Havocfangs that they had avoided earlier had come to investigate the commotion and had charged into the battle, attacking indiscriminately. Ignis had thrown a thunder flask at four of the MTs and there was the noise of yowling Havocfangs as they were hit with the electricity. 

Noctis glanced around, slightly disorientated, and the human soldier threw a yellow flask or orb or something. It hit the ground between his feet, shattering on impact and releasing a yellow cloud that sprayed up and into Noctis' face like an explosion of yellow flour.

He gasped and gagged before realizing that he should of kept his mouth shut. An acrid, metallic taste flooded his mouth and burned his throat and sinuses and he began coughing, hard. Each cough ended in a gasp which just brought more of the yellow fog into his body and caused more coughs. 

Noctis collapsed back to his knees, choking. He inhaled with a rasp and a wheeze, opening his watering eyes in a squint. The yellow fog had risen up now on the faint breeze running up the incline and this low to the ground the air was clearer, so he was no longer inhaling the fog with each choking breath. 

He felt weird. 

The ground between his hands seemed to move, undulating like waves on the ocean. The noises of the battle around him seemed to grow louder and fade out into whispers in turns. At one moment he felt stretched and too taut, like a rubber band that would snap at any moment – a feeling he was accustomed to when he was too close to stasis – and at the next moment he felt small and folded, like he was collapsing in on himself. 

He had the brief, odd sensation that his fingers were shrinking and that the ground was a little closer than it had been before and that he had no idea were he was before he passed out.

Ignis saw him go down, collapsing like a rag doll to the ground. 

“Noct!” he shouted, hoping that the call would cause Noctis to stir. It didn't. 

They were in a bad position. There were still a handful of MTs left and the armour was still going, though it could not move. The Havocfang pack was also a cause of concern and now Noctis was lying unconscious, sprawled across the ground. 

He didn't know what that yellow fog had done to Noctis, besides rendering him unconscious, but they were going to be in worst trouble if the effects of it hit him here in the middle of this battle.

“What do we do!?” Prompto cried. He had also seen Noctis go down. Gladiolus was already fighting his way to the Prince's side. 

Ignis gritted his teeth, there was only option that he could see. He didn't like the idea at all. Gladiolus reached Noctis' side in time to save him from being disembowelled by a Havocfang. 

“Retreat!” he shouted finally. “Pull back to the Regalia!” 

Gladiolus didn't need to be told twice, he bashed a Havocfang in the muzzle with his shield and kicked another away before bundling Noctis over his shoulder and using his shield to plough through the combatants and down the incline. Ignis launched another thunder spell into the centre of the battle area and then he and Prompto followed.

They pounded down the slope to the road where the Regalia awaited and where dismayed to see two more drop-ships bearing down on them from Lestallum's general direction. 

“Oh my god!” Prompto squealed. 

“Get in!” Gladiolus yelled, pushing Prompto at the car with his free hand as more MTs leapt from the drop-ships, blocking the road back to Lestallum. 

This had very obviously been a planned and coordinated assault. 

Ignis flung himself into the driver's seat and barely waited for Gladiolus to throw Noctis and himself into the back seat before stomping on the accelerator. The tires squealed and the Regalia fish-tailed slightly, easily reaching a hundred in only a few seconds. 

In the back-seat, Gladiolus had flung himself over Noctis, keeping his own head down and simultaneously protecting Noctis with his own body. It was because of this that he noticed that Noctis felt oddly...smaller than he should have. 

Positively so, as his toes were pressing into Gladiolus' shins, but Noctis' face was against his shoulder and that should have put Noctis' feet down against his own. Also, Noctis' shoulders were suddenly much slimmer than Gladiolus was familiar with. He spotted one of Noctis' boots sliding off a far too small foot from the corner of his eye and he frowned.

Bullets ricocheted above him and off the heavy plating of the Regalia's body effectively putting a end to any idea he had of sitting up and determining just why Noctis appeared to be shrinking. 

Eventually the bullets stopped and Ignis slowed down enough for him to slide back up into the seat properly, reaching up with one hand to stem the blood flow from a bullet wound in his arm. There were bullet holes in the back of his seat and in the back of the passenger seat but the bullet-proof plating in the seats had protected him from severe injury.

“Iggy...” Prompto started, pulling himself out of the passenger side foot well, but Ignis cut him off with a shake of his head.

“It's a flesh wound. The bullet only grazed me.” He looked into the rear view mirror relieved that there wasn't any pursuit at the moment. “We've got to hide. There's a haven near here. That'll mask our presence. Noctis will have to glamour the Regalia. How is he, Gladio?” 

There was a stunned silence from the back seat. 

“Gladio?” Ignis prompted, glancing up in the rear view mirror. Prompto turned around.

Gladiolus was sitting up now and looking down at Noctis.

Noctis: who was a little over three feet tall with a short black bob and the tiniest – and cutest – little nose on his chubby face. 

Noctis: who appeared to be around five years old.


	2. Chapter 2

They made it to the Alkyrie haven just in time. 

Ignis had to glamour the Regalia. His glamour wasn't nearly as strong or as effective as Noctis', it wouldn't hold up under intense scrutiny, but it should work against MTs in drop ships. 

The haven itself would hide their presence.

Three of the drop-ships had begun a slow patrol along the road that they had fled down. With the cliffs on one side and the Taelpar Crag on the other they had a distressingly narrow area to search. Luckily, as long as they were nothing but MTs, the haven and Ignis' hasty glamour would conceal them.

That human soldier might be a concern. 

Hopefully he had died with Ignis' last desperate magic attack.

The last drop-ship had gone in another direction. Not towards Lestallum but across the Crag. More than likely to the Aracheole Stronghold. That was probably were they had come from initially.

After setting up the tent, Ignis had disappeared into it with Noctis and hadn't yet come back out. Gladiolus and Prompto watched the drop-ships scanning for them and set up the rest of the camping supplies. They'd more than likely be here a day or two. Maybe longer if the drop-ships continued to hover like this. 

There was a rustle from the tent and they both turned. Ignis crawled out, expression thoughtful.

“How is he?” Gladiolus asked. 

“Other than the fact that he appears to be four or five years old?” Ignis asked but the question was obviously rhetorical and he didn't wait for them to reply. “He seems to be unharmed. His lungs are a little congested but I think that's simply because of inhaling that yellow dust.” 

“So...” Prompto started and grinned just a little, “that's what Noct looked like at that age. He's cute.”

“I'm glad your priorities are in order, Prompto.”

“This is weird, I've gotta admit,” Gladiolus said. “Why did the Nifs develop something that'd turn him back into a child? I mean I guess it would make it easier to capture him but if he's five then I doubt he'd be of any use to them.”

Ignis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel the faint beginnings of a headache. “I'm not sure. It is possible that Noctis is merely five in physical appearance but retains his adult mind. We won't know until he wakes up.”

Prompto suddenly summoned his gun from the arsenal, startling the other two. They looked at him strangely and Prompto dismissed his gun back. 

“We can still pull our weapons out and we pulled the camping gear out,” he said by way of explanation. “Won't that mean he's still, you know, Noct?” 

“Not necessarily.” Gladiolus summoned a potion and then cast it back. “It's true that we didn't begin building Noct's aether until he was about eighteen or so but once it's built it doesn't just vanish. No matter what condition Noct is in. Even the King's aether still exists*,” he paused and crossed his arms, a little defensively, “Cor still has access because the King never revoked the blessing. And Noctis hasn't revoked ours.”

Prompto bit his lip. He hadn't really intended to bring up unpleasant memories. There was a moment of silence before Gladiolus sighed heavily and stopped Ignis' pacing, forcing him to sit so he could bandage his arm. 

A shadow fell upon the haven and they all looked up in surprise. A drop-ship was hovering directly over them and they waited in tense silence for a moment before it slowly moved on.

Just then, there was a small terrified cry from inside the tent and they all jolted for the entrance. Prompto who was closest, reached it first and flipped the flap open attempting a comforting and friendly smile. If Noctis was a child then portraying a kind and unthreatening presence was necessary. 

Unfortunately, as soon as Noctis' wide blue eyes fell on him the child screamed and scrambled backwards, tears spilling from his eyes.

“Daddy!” 

Prompto looked as if his world had just been crushed. Ignis gently pulled him away from the tent's entrance and patted him comfortingly. Noctis had obviously not recognised him nor Ignis.

Gladiolus sighed and crouched in front of the tent flap as the cries for 'Daddy!' grew more frantic and less understandable. Perhaps, if they told him that they were Crownsguard, it would make him more predisposed to trust them. 

The brilliant, teary blue eyes focused on him and there was a flicker of confusion.

And of recognition.

“Cla'us?” 

Gladiolus froze.

Ignis shot him a startled look.

Oh, of course.

Noctis had known Clarus from his earliest years. The man had been as near a constant presence in Noctis' life as Regis had been – which wasn't near as much as he should have been, in Ignis' opinion – and Gladiolus looked very much like his father had. 

Only...Clarus had been something of a taboo since Insomnia's fall. Gladiolus didn't talk about it and they were all too nervous about bringing him up, about bringing any of their families up. 

Even Regis hadn't really been talked about in Noctis' vicinity. The only time that they had brought Regis up had been Prompto's innocent question about rather or not Regis had liked fishing too and it had taken a long time before Noctis had answered, his voice terse. 

No one had brought up Regis or Clarus again.

Gladiolus shoulders relaxed and he smiled slightly, speaking more gently than they had ever heard him. “No, Prince Noctis. I'm Gladiolus Amicitia. Clarus is my father.” 

There was a flash of blue magic and Gladiolus was holding out a metal crest so Noctis could look at it: the Amicitia Crest. 

There were only three people – two now – that had that crest. Noctis obviously recognized it, he'd been trained to, and he looked back at Gladiolus with a lot less fear than before. 

The crest disappeared back into the aether and Gladiolus opened his arms to the small Prince. Noctis crawled across the blankets, hesitating once or twice before he finally flung himself into Gladiolus' arms. Now feeling much safer and calm, Noctis turned to look up at Prompto and Ignis curiously.

“Who are they?” he asked, tilting his head back to look up at Gladiolus. 

“They are your Crownsguard. The man in glasses is Ignis Scientia,” here Gladiolus paused for a moment, just to see if Noctis reacted to the name at all – he didn't, “and the blonde is Prompto Argentum.” 

Noctis bit his lip as he looked at them thoughtfully, almost suspiciously. 

“Ah! Of course,” Ignis said, snapping his fingers suddenly. He then reached for the collar of his jacket and flipped it up, revealing the small Crownsguard crest pinned underneath. “See? We are members of your personal Crownsguard. Prompto.”

“Ah, right.” Prompto fumbled with his own collar before the concealed pin was uncovered.

Noctis blinked at the pins and then his whole body seemed to relax. He looked around at the tent walls and the greenish light that filtered through. “Where are we?”

“We are in Cleigne, Your Highness,” Ignis said, kneeling at the tent entrance. “At a haven.”

There was a spark of excitement in Noctis' eyes at the information and his voice squeaked as he leaned forward. “Like on the map!? Beyond the wall!?”

Prompto giggled behind Ignis and he couldn't help his own smile. “Yes, beyond the wall. We're on a...trip, an adventure.” 

Noctis slid out of Gladiolus' lap and stood on bare feet in the haphazard nest of blankets. He took a step forward, clearly excited to leave the tent and look at the world outside the wall, before he stopped, looked back at Gladiolus and tugged at his hand. The Shield rolled his eyes fondly but crawled out of the tent behind the child obediently.

Noctis clung to Gladiolus' hand, thrumming with excited energy as he looked around them with wide, interested eyes. At the trees and the field, the Spiracorn herd grazing on the right hand side of the field particularly interested him, and then at Ravatogh looming large off in the distance. 

Prompto moved around them taking photos and was utterly delighted whenever Noctis looked at him, gracing the camera with a small shy smile. 

“Oh gods,” Prompto gushed, “he's gap-toothed!” 

Noctis was a tiny thing, the top of his head barely reaching Gladiolus' hip and as slender as a willow. They had no clothes that he could wear, just adult Noctis' shirt that hung past his knees and exposed one thin, white shoulder and arm. Ignis frowned, he'd have to do something about that soon.

After a while it became obvious that Noctis was no longer looking at the scenery but seemed intent on looking around for something else. Ignis knelt before him.

“Is something wrong, Noct?” Noctis looked at him with bright eyes but the eye contact didn't last long.

“Where's daddy? Isn't he here?” Ignis sucked in a breath and he heard Gladiolus sigh, lightly. Prompto stilled behind him.

“No,” Ignis said softly. “No, he's...he's not here. I'm sorry, Your Highness.” 

Noctis turned back to him. He didn't look necessarily surprised nor disappointed, his expression seemed more resigned than anything, and a little of the wonder caused by being outside the wall had faded. “Oh.” 

Ignis tilted his head, thoughtfully. “How old are you, Noct?”

Noctis gave him a strange look, as if he felt that Ignis should have been thoroughly aware of his age but he answered none-the-less. “Four.” 

Ignis nodded and the topic was dropped. The next half hour or so was spent, first, convincing Noctis to let Ignis adjust his clothing and then actually adjusting Noctis' clothing. In the end, Ignis had simply used pins to cinch a pair of boxers around Noctis' tiny waist and turn the oversized shirt into a romperesque outfit. There was nothing they could do about shoes. 

Prompto had conjured a notebook and a few coloured pens from somewhere that he presented to Noctis like it was some fancy jewel and the two were currently laying on their stomachs between the tent and the firepit, drawing. Noctis was obviously starting to warm up to Prompto though he would occasionally glance up to make sure Gladiolus was still nearby.

Gladiolus had gone to lean against Ignis' prep table, arms folded as he watched Noctis and Prompto. Ignis was rummaging through their cooler, trying to decide what to have for lunch with their meagre supplies. They hadn't been planning to camp so shopping had not been on the to-do list this morning before they left Lestallum. Ignis had planned to do it later this evening with Noctis and Gladiolus resting in the hotel room.

Hindsight, Ignis supposed. 

He found at the bottom of the cooler a pack of Shieldshear claw meat that he had all but forgotten about and sighed happily. They had some rice left and a few eggs, all they needed to make an egg and crab rice bowl. Tomorrow might be an issue if the drop-ships continued hanging around but they had cup noodles for supper and the ingredients to make porridge for breakfast at least.

“Four, huh?” Gladiolus asked as Ignis began the rice and started on the other ingredients. 

“Yes, that's about the age I had put him at,” Ignis said, glancing at him. 

He looked even more tired now than he had before the fight with the MTs. 

After lunch, he was going to push for Gladiolus to take a nap and probably Noctis too. At his age, he'd more than likely need it before he became fractious.

“He didn't recognize you...or well, your name? You met when he was four didn't you?” 

“Yes,” Ignis admitted slowly, “but we didn't meet until late that winter. A week or two after I came to Insomnia to live with my uncle. Noct had already been four for a few months by then.”

“Hmm.” Gladiolus looked back at the child thoughtfully. “I was afraid,” he said after a few minutes silence, “that he would ask more about his dad.” 

Ignis sighed. “I don't know what I would say if he did. I'm not really surprised though. Regis did everything he could to be there for Noctis much of his childhood but by this age, Noctis had already grown... accustomed to the idea that his father had other priorities.” He paused. “You should know.” 

Gladiolus did know but his and Noctis' situation had been a little different. Gladiolus had had the care and attentions of his mother for the first ten years of his life while Noctis' mother had died a few months before his first birthday. 

Iris understood better. She, too, had grown up without a mother but, in turn, she had a devoted, protective older brother. 

True, there had been Ignis. He had been given to Noctis as a companion and a sort of pseudo-brother but it hadn't been the same. 

Ignis turned to look at the other two as well. “He seems to have accepted being outside the wall without a single question as to why we are out here.”

Gladiolus shrugged. “Kids his age tend to just accept things, especially after being told it's an adventure. They're remarkably...resilient. Iris was the same way when she was four.”

“Ah, yes. I forget sometimes that you helped raise Iris.” Ignis laughed gently as Noctis looked up for Gladiolus again, relaxing when he saw him and smiling shyly at the two adults before returning to his art. “He seems to be quite taken with you.”

Gladiolus chuckled. “What can I say? I'm just that good.” 

Ignis smiled, though it looked a little sad. Personally he thought it was more because Gladiolus was strongly reminiscent of his father and that Noctis had been taught from infancy to trust and respect Clarus but he didn't say that. He didn't want to dredge up Clarus any more than he wished to talk about Regis.

Ignis set down the bowl of whipped eggs and crossed his arms, frowning at the frothy mixture. “We're going to have to do something about this. He can't stay a child indefinitely and we can't wait fifteen years for him to grow up again.”

Gladious sighed and raised his hands to rest on top of his head. “I'm not sure what you think we can do. We don't know what that stuff that the Nif threw at him was and we've no way of knowing if it even needs a cure. It's not like we can ask the Nifs.”

“I suppose we could...if we could contact Aranea but I have no way to do that. Maybe...maybe it'll wear off by tomorrow. Like a status ailment.” At least Ignis hoped it was like a status ailment.

He frowned and turned to look around. Two of the drop-ships were no longer to be seen, clearly having continued to follow the roads looking for them and the third was hovering near the woods to the south of them. “In any case, we cannot remain out here for very long. We'll need to return to Lestallum.”

Gladiolus nodded and straightened up as Noctis came running over to them excitedly, waving a sheet of paper in his hand. 

“Look, look!” he crowed. “I drew you!” 

“I see that,” Gladiolus said. 

He supposed the strange lumpy figure with the wild mane was supposed to be him and the one with green glasses was Ignis; the one with wildly spiked blonde hair had to be Prompto. Surrounding the figures were a child's rendition of the scenery around them, Gladiolus wasn't sure but he thought that the strange grey blob on one side of the page was an attempt at a Spiracorn.

“It's lovely, Noct,” Ignis said, smiling. Noctis practically beamed at the praise and turned to run back over to Prompto leaving the drawing in Gladiolus' hand.

“I'm going to draw one for daddy! So he doesn't miss out!” He didn't notice the moment of choked silence his words had left behind him.

“I'm sure...I'm sure he'd like that,” Ignis said and closed his eyes. Beside him, Gladiolus sighed heavily and dragged his hand down his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks goes to Shiary for commenting. 
> 
> Please comment, guys. It's really hard to create in a void.
> 
> *About the King's arsenal still existing. I know in Kingsglaive that Clarus said that once Regis dies they lose their power too but if you noticed in the battle at Keycatrich were Cor fights alongside you that he will also summon his sword from the blue crystals like everyone else but I doubt he's connected to Noctis. I know this is probably just because of game mechanics but it also made me think that maybe the little pockets that the royal families create don't really disappear because that doesn't make sense either but that people lose access to it. Cor, therefore, can still access the King's arsenal but he's the only one. 
> 
> I forgot to say it in the last chapter too but I don't explain in story what the Nifs did. The yellow dust wasn't actually meant to turn Noctis into a child, it was supposed to just render him defenceless but because of the interaction with his magic, he ended up a child.
> 
> Also the opening scene was partially inspired by an event that happened to me in game. I had gotten a dropship with MTs and, because Ignis wouldn't drive through them in the Regalia, I had to fight them. I had just killed them all when another dropship dropped an armour on me. I've never had two dropships like that before or since, so I'm guessing it was a weird glitchy fluke but it was interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Shiary and Akairyuu10 for commenting. I really appreciate it.

Ignis slowly set up with a faint groan and silenced the alarm buzzing in his ear. He was still very stiff and sore from the battle yesterday.

The battle that had turned Noctis into a four year old child. 

Ignis turned to look but he was fairly sure that Noctis was still a child, Gladiolus – light sleeper that he was – would have woken him if Noctis had transformed back into an adult during the night. 

Oh. 

Noctis was curled up on Gladiolus' chest, a Cactuar plush clutched in his arms and his thumb in his mouth, a tiny finger resting alongside a tiny nose.

He shook his head. Noctis hadn't completely stopped sucking his thumb until he was about six (despite the untiring efforts of his nurse) so Ignis wasn't very surprised to see him sucking it now. He very carefully pulled the thumb from Noctis' unresisting mouth. 

Noctis smacked his lips gently in his sleep and snuggled just a little closer against Gladiolus' chest, burying his face in the plush. 

He had been concerned, initially, that Noctis would irritate Gladiolus' healing chest wound but Gladiolus had just waved him off: “He barely weighs a thing. It's tender but it's like touching a bruise. It's fine.”

The Cactuar plush had been from Prompto. Apparently, he had purchased it for Talcott but when Noctis had become irritable and refused to lay down for a nap even though he was obviously exhausted, Prompto had offered it to him in a compromise (Gladiolus taking a nap with him had been the other part of that compromise). 

Noctis loved it. 

It was very similar to the old Cactuar plush that Noctis had had as a child and that his mother had made for him while she awaited his arrival into the world. Spines – as Noctis had fondly called it – had maintained a place of honour in Noctis' room even as he was supposed to outgrow toys.

Ignis watched for a few moments more before taking a picture with his phone and setting it as his background. Pocketing the device, Ignis crawled for the tent entrance. 

Gladiolus stirred as he sensed his movement, one amber-eye cracking open. Ignis made a sign to him that it was morning and he yawned before drifting back into his light sleep. One large hand rubbed across Noctis' back gently for a moment before he stilled. 

Ignis smiled and quit the tent.

Sometime later, Noctis woke. He kept very still as he observed his surroundings over the top of his plush. 

He was confused for a moment that he wasn't in his bedroom in the Citadel but then he remembered that they were supposedly on an adventure outside the wall. There was still a small bubble of excitement at the idea.

The blonde Crownsguard, Prompto, was laying near him in a strange looking tangle of blankets and he was resting on Gladiolus' gently rising and falling chest, the Shield's hand cupping his back. Ignis was no where to be seen.

He liked these men. They were very nice to him and treated him like a friend instead of the cool, professional (though not unkind) way the Crownsguard at home treated him. 

They even called him Noct, which he preferred but which only his dad ever called him (occasionally Uncle Clarus and Uncle Cor would call him Noct but that wasn't very often). 

He still wanted his daddy but he was happy enough with these three and he could manage until they returned to Insomnia.

There was a slight issue though and one that needed to be taken care of. Noctis wriggled, attempting to slide from Gladiolus' chest but the hand against his back tensed, holding him in place.

“What are you tryin' to do, kid?” Oh, Noctis hadn't realized Gladiolus was awake.

“Potty,” Noctis said, looking at him through his eyelashes and biting his lip. Gladiolus relaxed.

“Ah.” Gladiolus shifted and sat up, depositing Noctis on his feet in the same movement. He crawled to the tent entrance but let Noctis go out first. 

“Is everything alright?” Ignis asked as they emerged. The sun was well above the horizon and the pinks and golds of sunrise were only faintly visible now. Gladiolus raised an eyebrow at how late it was. It was not like Ignis to let them sleep in.

“Yeah, the little one here just needs to use the bathroom.” Noctis nodded vigorously, dancing a little bit and not just because he had to go to the bathroom. The rock under his bare feet was cold. 

“Do you have him?” Ignis slipped a Chocobo feather into the novel he was reading as a form of bookmark and set it aside. Gladiolus smirked, it was one Ignis had stolen from him a week ago in a bout of boredom while Noctis fished and had immediately become hooked on.

“I got it,” Gladiolus waved him away, snatching the sponge bag up, and led Noctis to the edge of the haven behind the tent.

Ignis set his mug of coffee on the table and ladled out two bowls of porridge, adding plenty of honey to Noctis'.

They came back a few minutes later and Noctis wriggled his way up into Gladiolus' lap; which would make it more difficult for them to eat but Gladiolus didn't seem bothered, eating with one hand like he was used to it. 

Prompto stumbled from the tent soon after, bleary eyed, and received his own bowl of honeyed porridge. 

“What's the plan for today?” Prompto asked, breaking the silence as the clinking of their utensils slowed. 

“We need to return to Lestallum,” Ignis said and took a sip of his coffee. The last drop-ship that had been hunting for them had disappeared over the mountains some two or three hours before yesterday's sunset and had not come back yet. “Particularly now with...” he indicated Noctis and the other two adults understood.

“It may be better to wait an hour or two,” Gladiolus said, taking Noctis' bowl when the child passed it to him and cuddled closer against his chest, shivering. “Get me a blanket will you, Iggy.” 

Ignis did so and took the bowls – empty in Gladiolus' case, partially in Noctis' – as Gladiolus tucked the blanket around Noctis and his bare little legs. 

“The Imperials may show back up. Here the haven's magic hides us.”

“The drop-ships haven't been back,” Ignis argued. “Now may be the best time for us to leave. It may not be safe to gamble on the Imperials getting further away from us. They could double back at any moment too.”

“I think I agree with Gladio, Igster,” Prompto said. “It might be better to wait. If we're right, he should change back by then and then we won't need to worry.” 

Ignis sighed. They were safe here and there was a chance that Noctis could change back in a few hours, twenty four hours after the initial transformation, but if this was their only chance to escape without notice then they couldn't afford to miss it. 

Then again, the Imperials could be waiting for them to move so they could launch an ambush. It wasn't like they didn't know that the havens existed or about the haven's magic. MTs – for a reason no one knew – couldn't approach havens or see anything on them in much the same way as daemons so they would have to wait until they came off the haven first.

Both options had merit and both were equally dangerous.

Noctis, currently a child, was terrifyingly vulnerable. It would probably be best to wait until he changed back but would he? They could wait, at least until the twenty-four hour window was closed. No status ailment that they had encountered yet had lasted for more than twenty-four hours. 

“Alright,” Ignis said finally. “We'll stay until lunchtime. We absolutely must leave by then whether he's changed back or not. We haven't the supplies to stay here indefinitely.”

The other two agreed and Ignis turned to Noctis, who had listened to the exchange silently and somewhat uncomprehendingly. “Noct, let me see about your clothes. I have to do _something_ about your feet.”

Noctis nodded and slid from Gladiolus' lap, albeit with some reluctance. His toes curled when his feet touched the cold stone again but he followed Ignis into the tent. It took a long while before either of them emerged again and when they did, Ignis had worked a miracle. 

Ignis had taken one of adult Noctis' shirts and had pinched and seamed and hemmed it until it fit Noctis. It fit a little strangely because he had tried to do nothing to the shirt that couldn't be undone at a later date but it was passable. A pair of Noctis' soft cotton sleep trousers had received the same care and the tie was wound around Noctis' tiny waist twice. 

There still wasn't anything that Ignis could do about shoes but he had made something like padded socks using some of the cloth scraps he kept in his sewing kit and a piece of thick hide from a hunt they still had in the aether. Grown-up Noctis might not be pleased that he had had to use some of his fishing line to make it sturdy but child Noctis liked that his feet were no longer cold.

“Well look at you!” Prompto said, jumping up with his camera in hand. Noctis was even cajoled into posing for him. Child Noctis was obviously no where near as camera shy as adult Noctis was. 

“First thing I'm doing when we get back to Lestallum is buying a set of children's clothes. Just in case this happens again,” Ignis said to Gladiolus. He laughed.

Noctis grew tired of posing for photos and threw himself at Gladiolus only to be swept up and held under one arm as the Shield tickled him with his other hand.

“No!” Noctis shrieked, kicking his legs and squealing with laughter. Ignis laughed too and dug his own fingers into Noctis' sides when the child reached for him, attempting to garner sympathy for his plight. Prompto gleefully snapped photo after photo around them.

Noctis was gasping and limp in Gladiolus' arms when the tickles finally ended but he was smiling.

“Let me down,” he cried, gesturing imperiously at the ground.

“Hmmm,” Gladiolus rubbed at his chin in a mock thoughtful gesture, “I don't know if I should. What do you think Iggy?” 

“I don't know. He might not have been sufficiently tickled. It would be best to make sure.” 

“No!” Noctis wriggled, bursting into giggles before Ignis' fingers even reached his side. Prompto was laughing and Ignis dropped his hands. 

“Alley-oop!” Gladiolus slung Noctis up and settled him on his hip. “How's that, little Prince?” 

Noctis wrapped his arms around his neck and rested his head on his shoulder, still breathing harshly from the tickle attack. 

“Oo, that's a good one. Man, I should have gotten some video too,” Prompto said, flipping back through the photos. Ignis chuckled and tapped his shoulder.

“Help me clean up from breakfast and pack stuff away,” he said. Prompto dragged his eyes away from his camera and nodded. 

“What about you?” Gladiolus asked, raising an eyebrow at Noctis. “Want to help me put the tent away?”

Noctis perked up and nodded eagerly, receiving a hair ruffle in response before Gladiolus grabbed his wrists and swung him like a pendulum down to his feet. He wobbled for a second then grabbed the Shield's hand and began dragging him towards the tent, stopping abruptly at the sound of a low mournful bray.

A pack of Havocfangs, eight or nine strong, came out of the woods to the south of the haven and split into two groups. They were obviously on the hunt and the nearby herd of Spiracorns spooked. 

It was a cacophony of snorting and yelping and thundering hooves as they fled. The Havocfangs gave chase, working together to harry the equines and awaiting the smallest mistake to take one of the herd down.

Prompto's camera was up and clicking away. 

Ignis was right beside him.“It is rare to see a Havocfang hunt,” he said. “You could sell these photos. A wildlife periodical or a zoologist would be very interested in them.” Ignis, honestly, looked just as interested himself. 

Noctis pressed himself anxiously to Gladiolus' legs and watched wide eyed as the stampede changed direction and came straight for the haven, curving around it in two groups and continuing north. Though the creatures avoided the haven by several metres, they were still very close and were much bigger than Noctis had realized. 

Then it seemed as if one of the Havocfangs had caught scent of them or something because just as it passed them it turned, snarling, to charge up the haven's ramp. 

Noctis turned at just the moment that it came onto the haven, close enough that the child could reach out and touch it. It was bigger than he was. Large and shaggy and hideous with giant fangs and a long dripping tongue. 

But the instant the thing's talons had clicked against the glowing runes they flashed and it stopped as if it had run straight into a brick wall, the aggression in its frame melting away. 

For a split second they stared at one another, one made dumb by fright and the other by the magic of the haven.

Then the spell was broken. 

Noctis shrieked and began to cry.

Gladiolus cursed and swept the child into his arms, moving into a roundhouse kick and sending the beast tumbling off the side of the haven to land below with a thud and a yelp. The sound alerted its pack which had separated a foal from the Spiracorn herd nearby but hadn't yet managed to bring the young colt down. (Said colt judiciously fled once the Havocfang pack's attention was no longer on it.)

“Take him!” Gladiolus barked, transferring Noctis into a startled Ignis' arms and leaping off the haven. The Havocfang he had kicked off the haven was struggling to get its legs beneath it, the fall having broken one of it's forelegs. 

Gladiolus killed it with a heavy swing of his greatsword and turned just in time to see another of the Havocfangs leap for him. It jerked back and yowled, blood splattering from its face and the remains of its left eye as it hit the ground and Prompto landed beside him, clicking the chamber of his pistol back into place with the flick of his wrist. 

This wouldn't be an easy fight. They were two men down and there was still six of the beasts alive. 

One of the Havocfangs charged Gladiolus, mouth opened. Its fangs clanged around the metal of his sword as Gladiolus brought the weapon up between them, slobber rolling down the blade. 

Another of the Havocfangs was circling around him as he fought to push back the one trying for his throat, obviously thinking him too distracted to pay any attention to his flank. When it leapt at him, it was met with a shield and left with a bloody muzzle. A bolt from Prompto's Auto-Crossbow put an end to it.

The Auto-Crossbow was powerful but slow and Prompto and Gladiolus managed to manoeuvre themselves into a workable strategy wherein Gladiolus kept the attention on him between bolts from Prompto. It was effective and soon enough the entire Havocfang pack was lying dead around the base of the haven. 

Prompto had received a few contusions caused by the Auto-Crossbow's kickback but he simply waved them off, use by now to the small injuries caused by his heavy machinery. The machines had not been built with human wielders in mind. 

Gladiolus had the worst injuries, two long gouges that ran nearly parallel down his left leg and a scrape on the back. The second to last Havocfang had managed to get under his guard for a brief moment and had managed one swipe before Gladiolus had beheaded it. 

“You okay?” Prompto asked as Gladiolus peeled back his trouser leg to look at the injury.

“Yeah,” Gladiolus hissed and looked up at the haven over their heads. “It looks worst than it is but I don't want the kid to see.” He pulled a potion from the aether and broke it over his leg, grunting slightly as the wound stitched together. Some water from the small rock stream at the haven would wash the remaining blood away.

Gladiolus looked at the Havocfang carcasses around them and grimaced. 

“I don't want him to see this either.” He waved his hand at them and glanced around.

“Over there,” Prompto said pointing. “There's a large outcropping not to far away. We can hide the bodies behind it and Noct won't see them even when we walk back to the car.” 

Gladiolus nodded and reached down to grab the legs of one of the Havocfangs, dragging it along to the outcrop. It took a relatively short amount of time before all the carcasses were disposed of and they were back at the haven. 

Ignis and Noctis were no where to be seen but they could hear Ignis' soft speech and Noctis' hitched breath from inside the tent.

Ignis looked up at them as Gladiolus flipped the flap back. Noctis' face was buried in his lap, hiccuping from his tears but no longer crying quite so hard, his arms wrapped tight around the Cactuar plush. Ignis was gently stroking his hair and murmuring soothing things.

“Hey now,” Gladiolus said, smiling when Noctis' head jerked up. “No need to cry. The scary mutts are gone and we're just fine.” 

“Gladdy!” Noctis leapt up from Ignis' lap and launched himself at Gladiolus, wrapping both arms around the Shield's neck once he was swept up into his arms. He held on tightly as Gladiolus rubbed his back with a large hand and cooed soothingly. 

Noctis pulled back after a few moments, reaching up with one hand and wiping both eyes and nose with the edge of his oversized sleeve (Ignis cringed but kept silent). Then he spotted Prompto behind Gladiolus and reached for him too. “Prompto!” 

Prompto beamed and caught him as Noctis slid sideways out of Gladiolus' arms and into Prompto's. “Oof, kiddo. You're almost too big to be held.” 

Despite his words, he shifted Noctis around to settle on his hip. Noctis cuddled into his shoulder and Prompto, joyously, snuggled back.

Gladiolus held a hand out to Ignis, assisting him out of the tent. Ignis' sharp gaze immediately focused in on the rent in Gladiolus' trouser leg and he narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing at Prompto and Noctis to see if they were paying attention. 

“Are you two really okay?” he asked lowly, a hand coming up to just briefly touch Gladiolus' jaw.

“Yeah,” Gladiolus murmured back. “Got me a bit but a potion took care of it. Prompto's got bruises only.” 

Ignis nodded, face relaxing. “Good.” There was a pause and then Ignis added, almost as if it was an afterthought: “I'll sew your trousers up later this evening.”

“Nah, I got it. My needlework ain't as good as yours but I can take care of it.” Gladiolus squeezed Ignis' hand briefly before moving over to Prompto and Noctis, stealing Noctis from the blonde without any remorse and hanging the child over his shoulder by his ankles, much to Noctis' delight. “Hey kiddo, you said you'd help me break down the tent. Come on.” 

“Don't take him!” Prompto protested. Noctis giggled as Gladiolus whisked him away from Prompto and towards the tent. Ignis chuckled and shook his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a little inspiration for this chapter comes from something that happened in game to me. You guys know that if you stand around in the same area for a long time or run around in an area without an encounter for a while, you get a random encounter. This is usually Voretooths or Havocfangs. Well I tend to stand around a lot because I play on my computer too and I was at one of the havens - I don't remember which one but it was one that was down the side from the road and was built into the side of the hill. I was just standing there and then a pack of Voretooth (I think) showed up and was running around on the Haven where the guys were standing but they never attacked until I left the haven. It was weird and kind of funny. But that's where the Havocfang encounter in this chapter came from. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! Please comment too. It really helps. Though I doo also really enjoy all the kudos as well. ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys did notice the tags to this fic right? Okay, just checking.
> 
> A special thank you to Shiary, 6336, Redfoxline, and RikuKingdomHearts3 for commenting. I really, really appreciate it.
> 
> Sorry this took so long. ^^ Here have an extra long chapter to make up for how long it took me to write this. ~~Yes, it's because I'm rewarding your wait with a longer chapter and has nothing to do with the fact that I couldn't figure out a good way to break this chapter up.~~

The twenty-fourth hour came and went without any discernible change in Noctis' condition.

As Ignis had said, though, they could not stay at Alkyrie. Ignis slipped his Chocobo feather into his novel and stood up, allowing Gladiolus to fold and dismiss his chair into the aether. They had already packed everything else away.

“Prompto. Noct,” he called to the two. “It's time to go.” 

Prompto was chasing Noctis around and around the haven, the air ringing with Noctis' excited laughter. At Ignis' call, he increased his stride and scooped Noctis up accompanied by a shriek. Once he realized that he wasn't getting away to continue the chase, he fell limp and looked at Ignis practically upside down in Prompto's arms.

“Go? Why?” His face was flushed with the exercise and he was breathing heavily. Ignis smiled, tapping him on the end of his nose.

“Because we must get food for rotten little boys to eat.” As if on cue, Noctis' stomach gave a small grumble. Prompto snickered and Ignis shook his head, retrieving a Duscaen orange from the aether. He peeled it deftly and gave it to Noctis, who happily pulled the wedges off one by one.

Ignis' glamour was still in effect when they approached the Regalia. He spent a few moments working on pulling it down which was always harder than putting one up, especially when one did not have an inherent access to magic.

Noctis' eyes widened as the glamour fell and he pulled his hand from Prompto's abruptly, racing to the car and thumping both hands against the door.

“Daddy's car!” He fumbled with the door handle, managing – with a little effort – to get the door opened and clambered up into the back seat. They watched his shoulders fall as he realized that there was nobody in the car.

“Noct?” Ignis' voice was soft and sad and Noctis turned to look back at him.

“Daddy's not here,” Noctis' voice was so disappointed. “But I thought...”

Prompto bit his lip, rubbing the back of his neck. Gladiolus and Ignis shared a sigh and a quick silent conversation when they looked at each other.

“I'm sorry, kiddo, but he's not,” Gladiolus said, turning back to him. “He let us borrow his car because he knew how much you loved it and he wanted to make sure you were safe. The Regalia is safest for you.” 

Noctis expression of disappointment didn't fade but he seemed convinced by Gladiolus' words and somewhat happier for having his father's beloved car, even if he couldn't have his dad. 

Subdued, Noctis settled back into the seat and Prompto handed him the Cactuar plush that he had temporarily forgotten about. Noctis curled around it as the other three climbed into the car. As soon as Gladiolus took his seat next to him, Noctis shifted over until he could curl against his side.

“To Lestallum then,” Ignis said as the roof pulled back revealing the open sky.

The long ride was pleasant. It wasn't nearly as hot as it was the day before, probably because of the rain clouds they could see collecting across the Crag near the meteor's crater. 

There were no drop-ships to be seen either.

Half-way through the drive, Noctis was finally flagging. He was half-asleep and half in Gladiolus' lap, thumb in his mouth again. His tiredness didn't really allow him to appreciate Lestallum when they finally arrived in the town. 

“Let's see about something for lunch first,” Ignis said as they climbed out of the car. Gladiolus picked Noctis up and he sighed heavily as his little head fell against the Shield's shoulder sleepily. “Something easy, I think. I doubt Noct will be awake long enough to eat much.”

“I'm not sleepy...” Noctis murmured defiantly. He didn't lift his head from Gladiolus' shoulder, though, and adjusted the Cactuar in his arms, yawning. His tiny form shook along with Gladiolus' shoulders as he chuckled.

“Sure you aren't, kiddo,” he said. They found a small cafe serving a variety of meat skewers and delicious fried sandwiches with a suitable children's menu with something for Noctis to eat. 

As predicted, Noctis only stayed awake long enough to eat a little less than half his portion of lunch before he fell asleep against Prompto. 

“Well,” Gladiolus said, eyeing the sleeping child as Prompto shifted him around more comfortably, “that took a little longer than I thought it would. I was expecting more of a fight too. Iris always had a meltdown when she was tried and refused to nap.”

“Hmm,” Ignis said. “Noct has never really ever had a 'meltdown' but he did often refuse naps when he was this little. I think running around the haven exhausted him more than he's used to.”

Gladiolus hooked a finger in Noctis' abandoned basket, pulling it across the table, and helped himself to the remaining chips and Chickatrice skewers. “You know, Specs, I was thinking. It's true we don't really have a way to contact Aranea to find out about _this_ ,” he waved an empty skewer at Noctis, “but why don't we ring up Cor? He might know something...or at least be able to find out something.”

Ignis paused, the last piece of his sandwich half way to his mouth. He ate it and chewed thoughtfully gaining some time before he swallowed and spoke. 

“Truthfully, I...did not even consider contacting Cor. This entire situation has been so...odd that the idea never even occurred to me.” Ignis wiped his hands clean on a napkin and retrieved his phone. 

Gladiolus finished off the last of Noctis' chips as Prompto tried to angle his phone enough for a photo of both him and the sleeping Noctis. Several moments passed before Ignis lowered his phone.

“No response,” Ignis said, a thoughtful expression on his face. “He may be busy or out of range.”

Gladiolus shrugged. “We'll try again later. In the meantime, maybe we should get our room for the night and put the kid down to sleep in an actual bed.” 

“Agreed. Prompto, please pull his thumb out of his mouth. Noct's never had an overbite and I don't want to risk him developing one from this.” Ignis stood up. 

Gladiolus parted from them when they reached the turning in the street that lead to the Leville, promising that he'd rejoin them in half-an-hour, so Ignis and Prompto continued to the Leville on their own. 

As soon as they'd reached the hotel room – and avoided an awkward encounter with the hotel attendant over Noctis' altered state (of course the one that they usually dealt with was the one on duty) – Prompto moved to the closest bed and laid Noctis on it gently.

Noctis had stirred multiple times on the way to the hotel and he stirred when he was placed on the bed, opening his eyes very briefly before heaving a sigh and turning on his side, thumb moving back to his mouth. Prompto pretended not to notice.

“I never thought children could be so heavy. He's so small,” he said, draping a spare blanket over Noctis' form. Ignis was already gathering up dirty laundry and preparing a check list for things they needed to restock. 

“He's around 15 kg right now. That doesn't seem like much but it's quite a bit when carried around for a period of time.” Ignis suddenly huffed a laugh and Prompto looked over at him to find him gazing fondly at Noctis. “I remember...” 

Ignis shook his head and turned his attention to Prompto, his smile wide and showing his teeth. “In the west wing gardens of the Citadel there was an old apple tree...crab apple. One day, Noct and I decided we wanted to try and get one of those apples. I think I was seven or maybe eight which made Noct about six, but he wanted me to lift him up to get one of the apples down. Mind you, I wasn't much bigger than he was at the time but I lifted him up by his legs and he grabbed one of the low-hanging ones. Of course, I lost my balance.”

Ignis lifted his left hand, fingers spread apart except for the pinky and the ring finger which were against each other. He waggled them demonstratively. “Broke two of my fingers and badly sprained my wrist. Noct ended up with scrapes on his face and his left arm and leg where his clothes didn't protect him when we fell. We also ended up filthy from the loam. Our governess came running when she heard our cries and swept us off to the infirmary and a bath. Naturally, my uncle and the King were called, though they only laughed after being told we would be just fine.”

Prompto was grinning. “You two must have gotten into a lot of trouble back then.”

“We did but we never really got into any _real_ trouble. Just little boys being little boys. I had the best time of my life those four years after I met Noct.” Ignis frowned thoughtfully but seemed to shake whatever thought that had momentarily saddened him away. “That apple wasn't worth it, by the way. Nasty, sour little thing. We couldn't even swallow the one bite we each took.”

“Did Gladio cause trouble with you?”

“No. Gladio didn't spend much time around us. We met him only infrequently and usually only at banquets until after Noct returned from Tenebrae. By then he was involved in his training. To give him credit, though, he was very serious about it. That was also when I entered my own training.” 

Ignis' reminiscences were interrupted by a knock on the door and Prompto got up from the bed to go open it. Gladiolus was back and carrying a large bag in one hand. 

“Hey, big guy. Whatcha got there?”

“I remembered something Ignis told me earlier today,” Gladiolus said, grinning, and handed the bag to a curious Ignis. 

Ignis opened it and pulled out a small child sized tee shirt, red with a yellow Chocobo pictured on the front. Looking into the bag he found enough children's clothing to make two or three outfits, along with a set of pajamas and a new pack of under things. There was also a pair of tennis shoes that lit up blue and red and had a comic book superhero on them.

“Oh excellent. Were they terribly expensive Gladio?” Ignis raised an eyebrow as he also found a colouring book and a packet of crayons at the bottom of the bag. Gladiolus looked unapologetic and Ignis rolled his eyes.

“Nah, there's a second-hand shop near Moatte's Odds-n-Ends. Iris dragged me to it when we staying here before. They may not fit him exactly but it's better than trying to make his old clothes fit. The shoes I had to get new.” 

Ignis nodded, throwing all of Noctis' new clothes into the basket with everything else before leaving to tend to the laundry. Gladiolus offered to help him and Prompto settled down to clean his guns while Noctis napped.

0-o-0-o-0

Noctis woke up from his nap some two or three hours later and was utterly disgusted with how much daylight had been wasted while he slept. 

He hated naps. 

Nobody should be sleeping while it was light out. 

He hadn't understood why Prompto and Gladiolus had started laughing or why Ignis had looked so amused when he had declared this. He brushed it off as one of those grown-up things that would 'make sense when he was older'.

At least he had his new colouring book that Gladiolus had given him though Ignis had insisted on his getting dressed properly first. Noctis had liked the new clothes and had chosen the black tee-shirt with Lil' Malbuddy on the front and the black shorts. 

Prompto had looked disappointed that he hadn't chosen the red one with the Chocobo.

Ignis helped him to get dressed, mainly because he couldn't get out of the clothing that Ignis had had to practically sew onto his person. Noctis wasn't a baby and could mostly dress himself though he had slight difficulty because he got caught in the tee-shirt. 

“Iggy?” Noctis asked, as Ignis pulled the tee-shirt down revealing his face.

“Yes?”

Noctis' tiny face scrunched up and he bit his lip. “What is a Car...Carbuncle?” 

Ignis faltered, his eyes widening slightly. “Carbuncle?”

“Uh-huh. I was dreaming.” Noctis deflated somewhat as if he believed that Ignis wouldn't take him seriously because it'd been a dream but he continued on regardless. “There were those dog things and I was scared. They were chasing me. I was running and running but then this little white animal with a red horn,” he held his hand to his forehead to indicate the horn's position, “came and made the bad dogs go away. It said it was a Carbuncle.”

Ignis blinked several times. Carbuncle had visited Noctis in his dreams. More than that, he had stopped Noctis from having a nightmare. No wonder Noctis had slept so heavily while taking his nap. 

He looked down at Noctis' earnest gaze aware that he was still waiting for an answer.

Ignis pursed his lips as he thought about what he would say. 

Carbuncle was something that Noctis had told him about after his return from Tenebrae. He had protected him, Noctis had said, while he had been unconscious following the Marilith attack and had helped him to come home.

Even now, Noctis still had the charm that Regis had given him. It was in it's own special little case in Noctis' bag. Ignis briefly considered getting it so Noctis would have it for comfort but ultimately decided against it.

It was tied to things that _this_ Noctis had not yet faced.

“Carbuncle is a protector. A protector of dreams and little children.” Ignis smiled gently. He finished folding the altered tee-shirt and placed it with the sleep pants Noctis had been wearing. “He knew you where scared and he came to help you.”

Noctis was silent for several moments, looking down at his feet. He sniffled slightly and when he looked up again his eyes were noticeably damp. 

“I saw daddy,” he whispered. “Carbuncle took me to him and we were in the Regalia. I...I want daddy, Iggy.”

“Oh Noct.” Ignis knelt and pulled Noctis into a hug. “I know things are...scary and strange right now. And I know it's not the same as having your father,” Ignis leaned back and took both of Noctis' little hands between both of his own, “but I promise you that we – Gladio and Prompto and myself – love you and we'll do everything we can to take care of you.”

Noctis wiped at his eyes with his hand before he nodded. Ignis pressed a gentle kiss to Noctis' forehead and helped Noctis hop up onto the toilet lid, handing him a dampened flannel to wash his face clear of tears while Ignis slid his shoes onto his feet.

“There,” Ignis said, accepting the flannel and draping it over the sink. “Now you look more like a Prince and less like a street urchin.”

Noctis giggled, the sound still somewhat watery, but Ignis was glad of the tentative smile on Noctis' face. 

They left the bathroom.

Gladiolus had opened the windows and was out on the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking down into the courtyard where the strains of lively music floated up to them. Noctis ran out to him, leaving Ignis to carry on with his inventory.

“Hey, kiddo,” Gladiolus said, a hand landing on Noctis' head and giving his hair a ruffle. “Come to people-watch too?”

Noctis nodded, hands wrapped around the railing posts and his face pressed between them. Gladious kept an eye on him as they watched the people in the courtyard. The gaps in the railings weren't big enough for him to pass through but it never hurt to be cautious.

As interested in this new town that Noctis was, he did eventually grow bored with watching what was – to him – the same scenery and people. He left the balcony and went over to the bed were his new colouring book had been left, picking it up and joining Prompto and Ignis at the table. 

Prompto was flipping through his photos and printing off the ones that weren't blurry or uninteresting. These he passed over for Noctis to coo over between changes of crayon colours. Gladiolus also left the balcony and joined them at the table, pulling his novel out.

A full hour passed before Ignis had finished his shopping list. 

“Well then,” Ignis said, folding his list and slipping into his shirt pocket. “I must go get supplies if we are to leave for Caem tomorrow and if we're to have supper tonight.”

He looked down at Noctis, colouring a cartoon puppy a bright green and kicking his legs under the table. “Noctis, would you like to come with me?” 

Noctis seemed to consider this for several moments before he nodded, closing his book and slipping his crayons back into their pack. Ignis smiled. 

“Gladio, Prompto what about you two?” 

“Oh, we'll stay here. I'm sure we'll find some way to occupy yourselves.” 

Ignis looked over at the other two sharply. 

He knew that tone of Gladiolus' voice. He had heard it before and it had led, on more than one occasion, to a rather... _pleasurable_ encounter with the older man. 

Prompto and Gladiolus were staring at each other, novel and camera abandoned. 

Prompto's lower arm was laying inside up on the the table between them and Gladiolus' fingers were gently running up and down the length of it and leaving goose flesh in their wake. Prompto's shoulders were tense and he looked half a second from launching himself across the table at Gladiolus who only grinned lasciviously, his eyes half-lidded.

Ignis frowned, radiating an air of disapproval. 

It wasn't that he was against them seeking each other out like this. Far from it actually. 

There had been times when he himself had joined in and there had been times when he had joined Noctis in making himself scarce while Gladiolus and Prompto worked out their needs with each other. This wasn't an unusual occurrence and it had been fully discussed long ago when they had entered into their relationship. 

There was no judgement and no misunderstandings and, unless otherwise stated, there was always an open invitation to the other two to join the fun.

Even so, it felt... _wrong_ considering Noctis' current position. Not of course that child Noctis would even know or that adult Noctis had ever accepted the open invitation anyway but his input in the relationship was no longer there and so Ignis had, in some manner, considered the entirety of their relationship on hold until Noctis was back to his adult self. 

Prompto and Gladiolus did not, evidently, feel the same way.

Unfortunately, expressing his disapproval out loud would draw Noctis' attention and Ignis would prefer that he remain oblivious. 

“Very well,” Ignis said, stiffly. 

Prompto had the decency to look a little abashed – though he didn't back down – whereas Gladiolus merely smirked. 

Ignis rolled his eyes and took Noctis' little hand in his. He hoped that the other two would get it out of their system before he and Noctis returned and that no more... _encounters_ would occur until after Noctis had returned to normal.

Noctis skipped along at Ignis' side as they left the Leville, causing their hands to swing back and forth, and looked around at everything. 

At home, he wasn't allowed to leave the Citadel unless accompanied by his governess or by his father but they so rarely ever went anywhere. He'd only ever seen the _city_ of Insomnia from the windows and from the rooftop conservatory. 

This town was called Lestallum, or so Ignis had said, and wasn't Insomnia but they couldn't have looked too different. Could they?

The market place was a completely different experience. This close to supper time meant that there were a lot of people in the market. There were more than Noctis was used to and he nervously pressed himself against Ignis' leg, tightening his grip on the older man's hand.

“It's alright, Noct,” Ignis murmured, leading him through the market. “Just stay by me okay?”

Noctis nodded. 

He slowly relaxed as they moved from booth to booth gathering the supplies Ignis needed. He had never seen so many interesting things before. Was that really what a potato looked like? He'd only ever seen them smashed on his plate at home. He didn't realize they were so... _brown_.

At one of the booths that Ignis visited, there was a young man next to a metal bowl filled with something that looked like water but was so sticky that when he stuck two wooden sticks into it he could wrap it around and around the ends of the sticks until it formed a globule. This he then handed to an older child, who promptly stuck it in his mouth and ran off. 

“Iggy?” Noctis tugged at Ignis' hand to gain his attention. 

“Yes, Noct?” 

Noctis pointed at the bowl with the sticky water. “What is that?”

“That is called water candy.” Ignis pursed his lips for a moment and then turned to the booth's owner. “A sample of water candy please for the little one.”

Nocits' eyes lit up when Ignis handed the small clear globule on its sticks to him, showing him how to spin the two sticks around and around until the candy had taken on a whitish appearance. It was very sweet and Noctis nibbled on the treat as Ignis led him around to other booths.

At one of the booths the owner apparently knew Ignis, calling him by name and beckoning him over so that they could fall into conversation. Ignis introduced the man to Noctis as Prissock and immediately started asking about various food items.

At that point Noctis stopped listening, too invested in his candy and everyone passing around them to pay any attention. He let go of Ignis' trouser leg to pull at the candy with the sticks. Ignis glanced down at him to make sure he was alright before returning to his conversation after a quick affectionate pet to his hair. 

And then Noctis' attention was grabbed by a small calico cat that slipped from underneath an adjacent booth and trotted past him, against the wall. 

Noctis liked cats. 

There were three that lived at the Citadel, in the gardens, and he had spent a number of afternoons playing with them and had, on more than one occasion, fallen asleep curled around one. 

Noctis wanted to play with this cat too.

He went after the small animal without a backwards glance to the oblivious Ignis, slipping between the legs of various market goers and following the cat on its winding path.

Noctis followed the cat to a narrow and dark alleyway, squeezing into it sideways. He was just barely small enough to not get caught in the narrow gap. When he emerged finally on the other side, he paused to wipe at the blackish smears that covered his palms and had discoloured the face of Lil' Malbuddy on his shirt but gave up when the smears did not come off.

“Kitty!” he called, chasing after the cat. The animal ignored him and led him through two more streets and another narrow alley, this one Noctis had to crawl on his hands and knees to get through. They passed another street that had a couple of people crowded around what looked like a shop at the far end.

Finally, after running down several sets of steps, they came to what was nearly a dead end, containing a wind turbine that belched steam from the top and two large trash skips. The cat leapt onto one of the skips and then onto the rocks, climbing up until it disappeared over the top with the flick of its tail. 

“Kitty!” Noctis cried but the cat was gone. Noctis' shoulders dropped and he turned around. He froze when he realised that he didn't know where he was. It was dark and eerily quiet in this corner of the city and there was no one about. 

There were two paths before him. One went straight and the other went to the right before going up stairs and turning a corner. He did remember running down stairs so he turned in that direction but he remained unsure.

Something clattered nearby and Noctis squealed shrinking back for a moment before he ran, scraping his knees against the stairs when he tripped in his haste. There were more stairs and a long silent, empty street before him when he turned the corner. 

Noctis hesitated, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. 

He wanted Iggy and Gladdy and Prompto. 

He wanted his daddy.

He wanted to go home.

0-o-0-o-0

“Thank you, Mr. Prissock,” Ignis said accepting the brown carrier bag that the vendor handed him. 

“Not at all.” The man smiled. “I'm sorry we didn't have the Griffon breast you wanted.”

“No matter. The Garulessa steak will be just as delicious.” Ignis waved his apology away. 

There. That finished his shopping for the day. All he had to do was get back to the Leville and cook supper. Then he could relax for the rest of the evening and maybe find out what happened between Isabella and Ferdinand in _The Guest with Red Hair_.

“Alright, Noct--” He looked down and abruptly froze. 

Noctis was no longer standing beside him. 

But he had been there literally just a minute ago.

“Noct?” Ignis spun hoping the child had simply shifted to his other side but Noctis wasn't there either. “Noct? Noctis!” Panic raising as Noctis failed to appear, Ignis abandoned his shopping on Prissock's booth, more concerned about Noctis than his supplies and searched the immediate area.

“Noctis!” The market was even busier than it had been when they had first arrived and Ignis pushed through people, stopping several to ask if they had seen a small black haired child in a black Lil' Malbuddy tee-shirt. 

No one had seen him and Ignis' search of the market had come up empty handed. 

“Noctis!” Ignis forced himself to take calm measured breaths to combat his growing panic. Hyperventilating would not help by any measure.

In the one minute interval that Ignis' attention was off of him, Noctis had disappeared into the market crowd and possibly into the town proper. 

Ignis would need help to search all of Lestallum.

With shaking hands, he pulled his phone from his pocket.

0-o-0-o-0

Gladiolus scrubbed his hair dry with a towel, sitting on one of the beds in only his boxers, one leg folded beneath him. Prompto was busy pulling the sheets off the other bed and bundling them up, not caring at all that his own hair was still dripping water onto his shirt collar.

“We should wash these,” Prompto said. “Don't want Iggy to have to clean up after us and I _really_ don't want to leave it for the hotel staff.”

Gladiolus snorted. “Probably isn't the first time the hotel staff has had to clean up something like that.” 

Prompto blushed, the red extending even onto his shoulders. “Still...”

“Hmm.” Gladiolus draped the towel around his neck and reached out to curl his hand around Prompto's wrist, tugging him closer. Prompto came without a protest, leaning down to meet Gladiolus eagerly. After a moment, they pulled apart. 

“You know,” Prompto said, bracing his hands on the Shield's thighs and licking his lips. “As cute as Noct is being, you know, _four_ , I'd really like for him to be back to normal already. I miss the cuddles and the kissing.”

“I'm offended,” Gladiolus said, not actually looking particularly offended. “Are Iggy and I not good enough for you?” 

“Of course you are, big guy, but Noct was my first real love and that makes him special.” Gladiolus shrugged, unable to argue with that logic. Besides he missed adult Noctis too.

They both looked over as Gladiolus' phone began ringing on the night stand. 

“Bet ya that's Iggy wanting to now if it's safe for him and Noct to return.” Prompto straightened, finding his trousers and dressing the rest of the way as Gladiolus picked up his phone.

“No doubt,” he grumbled. “I can sense the disapproval from this side of the phone. Can't help it if I'm a healthy young man with needs.” 

“You know he doesn't have a problem with that. He's just worried about Noct.” Prompto laughed, gathering up Gladiolus' clothes and dropping them on the bed beside him. The soiled sheets he dropped next to the door ready to carry them to the laundry. 

“Hey Iggy, before you ask, we're dec--” Gladiolus stopped abruptly. “Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I can barely understand you.”

Prompto turned when Gladiolus jumped to his feet, his voice raising until he was nearly yelling.

“What!? How!? No, not important...Where are you?...And you've searched the market?...Alright. Prompto and I will spread out from here. We'll find him. I swear it.” Gladiolus threw his phone on the bed, grabbing his clothes and rapidly dressing. 

“Noct's missing. Ignis took his eyes off of him for a hot minute and the kid disappeared. He's searched the market and is starting on searching up towards the power plant from there. We need to spread out and cover the rest of Lestallum.”

Prompto's eyes widened, shoving his feet into his boots and rushing to the door. “I'll start near the outlook and work my way into the city on the east side.”

“I'll head to the power plant and work my way down. We'll meet somewhere in the middle. Call if you find him!” Gladiolus called after him.

0-o-0-o-0

Noctis was crying. 

He had remembered being told by Cor once that if he was ever in a position of being lost that the best thing to do was to stay in one spot and wait. So Noctis had sat down on the top of the stairs and had given in to sobs. 

He didn't now how long he had sat there crying but it was long enough that his head ached and his chest and his stomach. He rose unsteadily to his feet and clutched the stair railing looking down the empty street before him. Slowly he climbed down the stairs moving to the corner of the building and peering around it. That area remained just as empty as it had been when he'd chased the cat to it.

Sniffling, Noctis returned to the stairs and sat on the lowest. He folded his hands under his arms, hunching up more in an instinctual need to make himself as small as possible than because it was cold. Point in fact, it wasn't cold at all.

Several minutes passed before Noctis heard the sound of footsteps and he looked up, hopeful. This was the first time he had heard anyone approaching since he had been here. 

A man rounded the corner of the building and stopped a the sight of him.

“Well hello,” he said. Noctis eyed him warily, hunching further against the railing. “What's a pretty little thing like you running around on your own for?”

The man looked disreputable at best. He was tall and thin, with a scraggly black beard and unkempt black hair. His clothes were old and dirty but were at least whole. 

He radiated an air of _wrongness_.

Noctis said nothing but climbed to his feet, prepared to run should it be necessary. 

“Who are you?” the man asked, approaching him. Noctis tensed, casting a quick glance at the stairs. “What are you doing here by yourself? Are you lost?”

Noctis shook his head. He trembled but continued to say nothing. All of his instincts were telling him to flee.

“You know, it's rude to not reply when someone's talking to you.” The man's eyes narrowed and he too looked up the stairs and around the area curiously. “Where are your parents? Are they nearby?” 

The man took another step towards Noctis and that seemed to be the final straw for Noctis' courage as he turned and ran. He only managed to get up the first two steps before the bony hand wrapped around his arm and yanked him back down.

“Let go!” Noctis cried, scrabbling at the fingers clamped around his upper arm like a vice. 

“You're being very impolite, boy,” the man practically snarled. “Here I am just trying to help and you go and try to run off.” 

He grabbed Noctis' chin, the grip bruising, and yanked his face first one way and then the other. 

“Hmm, you'd get a fair price,” he said, letting Noctis' chin go. “How about I take you somewhere nice kid?”

Noctis didn't know what that meant. He didn't understand anything but the fact that this man scared him and that he had grabbed him so roughly. The hand wrapped around his arm hurt and he panicked, the desire to get away overpowering.

Instinctively, Noctis bent and sank his teeth into the man's hand. The man yowled and released him but before Noctis could make his escape the man had grabbed him again and his hand struck Noctis across the face.

Noctis stared up at the man with wide eyes, made complaisant by his shock. 

In all of his short memory, he could not recall a single time that he had ever been struck. He had been punished before. Daddy had punished him once by sending him to his room where he had been obliged to write his alphabet a hundred times each in Lucian, Tenebraen, Galahdan and Nif. 

There had also been that time that he had played in the mud when he shouldn't have and had tracked it through the Citadel's halls. He'd had to help the servants to clean the floors and to launder and fold clothing after that, leading to a strong appreciation – and an even stronger resolve to never do _that_ again – for the work the servants did in the Citadel.

This new form of punishment had startled him so badly that Noctis offered no resistance to the man grabbing him around the middle and hoisting him up. But that was as far as he got before Noctis began screaming, wriggling around ferociously and kicking both legs and flailing both arms. The man grunted as he landed several surprisingly strong blows on him.

Cor had told him, in case he was ever grabbed by someone he didn't know, to make it as hard as possible for them to hold him and to scream as much and as loud as he could. 

Predictably the thin man couldn't hold him for very long and he dropped Noctis, who immediately tried to scramble away but the man grabbed him again and shook him violently. He lifted his hand and was more than likely going to strike Noctis across the face again when there was a loud report and the man screamed, releasing Noctis to clutch at his shoulder, blood beginning to seep between his fingers.

Noctis stumbled back, eyes wide and turned.

Prompto was standing at the top of the stairs, gun smoking, and an angry, hard look on his face. He kept the gun trained on the man but beckoned with his other hand at Noctis.

“Noct, come here.” Noctis burst into tears at the sight of him, scrambling up the stairs and wrapping both arms around Prompto's leg. Prompto petted his head with his free hand but kept his angry gaze trained on the man.

“I...I wasn't doing nothing,” the man stuttered, holding the hand not clutching his shoulder up as if to ward the blonde with burning eyes off. “He...he was lost. I...I was only try...trying to help.”

The man took a step back, eyes darting to the corner of the building. He looked as if he was trying to decide if he could run to it before Prompto could fire again. He cried out as a bullet hit the corner of the building he was inching to, causing plaster to fly about and strike him. 

The warning was clear: 'Move and I will shoot you.'

Not taking his eyes or gun off the man, Prompto lifted his hand from Noctis' head – the child tightened his hold on Prompto's leg in response – and reached into his pocket for his phone. He hit the speed dial for Gladiolus' number and held the phone to his ear, all without looking away.

“Yeah, I found him,” Prompto said first thing. “Far eastern back alley, down from the weapon's shop.”

He hung up without any further ado and slipped his phone back into his pocket. His touch to Noctis' hair was gentle and soothing though his eyes remained hard. Only a few moments passed before two sets of boots on the cobblestone street alerted Prompto to Gladiolus and Ignis' arrival but he did not dare turn to look. 

Noctis did look though and he broke into fresh sobs when he saw the other two men. He let go of Prompto's leg and flung himself at Ignis who dropped to both knees to catch him in his arms. Ignis stroked and kissed and fussed all in the same breath, looking frazzled and panicked as Noctis tried valiantly to sob out the entire story.

Gladiolus had knelt beside them, petting and peppering Noctis' head with kisses whenever he could get past Ignis. His blood boiled at the sight of the hand print starting to show on Noctis' cheek where the man had struck him and at the bruises forming from his grip.

“Oh Noct,” Ignis said, sitting back slightly and taking both Noctis' hands in his own. They had been scraped in his scramble up the stairs along with his knees and again in his attempts to escape the man's grasp. “I was so scared. Don't you ever disappear like that again. Oh your poor hands.” 

Ignis kissed the dirty palms tenderly.

Gladiolus stood up, glaring murder at the man shaking in his dirty boots. “Ignis, get Noct back to the hotel. We'll take care of this rift raft.”

Ignis should probably warn them off killing the man or something similar but, truthfully, Ignis didn't care a whit about what happened to the man that had not only grabbed Noctis so roughly as to bruise the young Prince but had dared to _hit_ him.

Noctis' grip around his neck was nearly a strangle hold as Ignis swept him up into his arms and left Gladiolus and Prompto to deal with the man. Considering all the emotional upheaval Noctis had no doubt been through the last hour or so, it did not surprise Ignis that he was practically comatose as they returned to the Leville.

By the time Gladiolus and Prompto returned, Ignis had swept Noctis into a bath and had tenderly tended all his scrapes and bruises. Noctis was clinging tightly to Ignis, not quite asleep though he was obviously exhausted and at the end of his endurance. He seemed almost afraid to let go, as if Ignis would vanish if he wasn't holding onto him.

“Well?” Ignis asked softly, adjusting Noctis more comfortably in his arms. 

“We didn't kill him,” Gladiolus growled. He didn't look the slightest bit happy about it. “But I was sorely tempted. He's in custody and facing charges of attempting kidnapping and endangerment. More than that, we find out that the man's been wanted in connection to a child sex trafficking ring.”

Ignis turned white, his hold on Noctis tightening slightly. 

“Yeah,” Gladiolus said in answer to his look. He reached over and placed a large hand on Noctis' back softly, the child relaxing at his touch. “We'll have a couple of the authorities coming by tomorrow to get our statements and to check Noct's injuries. We won't be leaving for Caem in the morning after all.”

“We also got your shopping, Iggy,” Prompto broke in, placing the carrier bags on the table. “Mr. Prissock kept them aside for you.”

“Oh hang the shopping,” Ignis said retreating to the bed with his precious cargo.

“Yeah that's what I thought you'd say.” Prompto placed another bag on the table. “I didn't think you'd want to cook either so we picked up some take-out.” 

“We can reheat it,” Gladiolus said, joining Ignis and Noctis on the bed. “Come here blondie.”

Prompto joined them. The bed was really too small for three grown men and a child but they didn't care. Not a one of them wanted to be far from Noctis at the moment and he certainly didn't want to be far from them, all of them had been through a terrifying and panic inducing ordeal. 

Slowly Noctis relaxed enough in their embrace to finally fall asleep, his utter emotional exhaustion getting the better of him. Even so, none of them moved from the warm protective cocoon.

Stroking Noctis' hair, Ignis silently prayed that Carbuncle would be on hand tonight. 

Noctis was going to need the tiny protector to safe guard his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look guys if you've never had to watch over a kid you can not really appreciate how quickly they move. A kid can go missing in less than 30 seconds in a crowded area if you don't keep an eye on them, regardless of whether someone grabs them or they wander off. And kids _will_ wander off if they see something interesting.
> 
> Anyways, please comment guys. It really does help. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! First off my apologies for not responding to comments on the last chapter. I wanted to take some time off from the internet and just relax. That's also why this chapter took so long.
> 
> Regardless, here is special thanks to Shiary, 6336, and YokaiLuna (your comment made me laugh especially hard). I really, really appreciate your comments guys! Thank you so much!

The next day dawned grey and dreary.

The rain that they had seen collecting over the Taelpar Crag had finally found its way to Lestallum some time during the night and had been falling so heavily that it nearly sounded like a roar. 

Noctis woke pale and withdrawn. He still looked tired though he had slept the night through, no doubt thanks to Carbuncle's endeavours. 

The bruises stood out starkly on his pale, pinched face.

He said very little and ate only a little more.

His throat had suffered from his screaming and crying of yesterday and Ignis had pressed on him some hot honey and lemon tea to soothe the pain. Still, Noctis seemed disinclined to speak or to do anything besides cling to one of the three of them like a small, silent shadow. 

Noctis had shown real actual fear at the very idea of being parted from them and, in his child's mind, the easiest way to ensure they could not be parted was by keeping in direct physical contact with at least one of them at all times. 

Noctis' experiences – being lost in a large, unfamiliar town and the encounter with the paedophile – had obviously triggered an alteration to his behaviour. 

Ignis felt incredibly guilty and ashamed. 

Noctis had been under his watch and Ignis had failed to keep him safe. Gladiolus had disagreed with this when Ignis had told him and Prompto of his feelings. 

As Gladiolus had pointed out, Ignis was unfamiliar with children. He had not really ever been around them and had never had to mind one before. Noctis didn't count. Ignis had been a child too at the time and Ignis' position had never been and never would be 'nursemaid' or 'caretaker' to Noctis. 

So, it was only natural that Ignis was unfamiliar with a child's tendency to not consider other people or the repercussions of their actions. Nor was he familiar with the way a child's attention could wander or with the speed in which a child could move. It was not his fault that he was unaware of this and that a minute's inattention could be more than enough for a child Noctis' age to disappear. 

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Gladiolus had said. “It could have been bad but we found him and he's safe. Could you have paid more attention? Probably but you're not used to kids, Iggy, and no one holds it against you for being unprepared. We'll just have to be extra cautious going forward. You're aware now and it won't happen again.”

Despite the assurances and the proof of Noctis' safety, Ignis still felt as if he was at fault for what had happened and he would carry that guilt for a very, very long time.

Noctis had spent the morning curled in Gladiolus' lap with his plush while the Shield read but eventually Gladiolus had to move around some and to go to the bathroom, so he had deposited Noctis with Ignis preparing lunch. Prompto had the delicate equipment of the Auto-Crossbow spread out around him while he cleaned it and they didn't really want Noctis around the pieces.

So it was that Noctis was following him around the tiny kitchenette, his little hand curled around the hem of Ignis' front right pocket and the other still clutching the Cactuar plush to him comfortingly.

Noctis shook his head to the slice of apple Ignis offered him and pressed his face into Ignis' hip. Ignis sighed softly and cut the apple up, mixing it into the rest of the fruit salad. 

There was a knock to the door.

Moving slowly so Noctis could keep up without tripping either himself or Ignis, Ignis went to the door and opened it. “Yes?”

There were two men outside the door, both dressed in the Lestallum constabulary uniforms and both looking decidedly damp. Noctis turned sheet white at the sight of them and he let go of Ignis' pocket to practically fling himself across the room at Prompto.

“Whoa, hey it's okay,” Prompto murmured cradling Noctis close. Before Ignis could make up his mind to follow and make sure his tiny ward was okay, the older of the two men spoke up.

“We're here to speak to a Mr. Gladiolus about the assault on his nephew.”

Ignis blinked. Nephew? 

“I'm right here,” Gladiolus said coming out of the bathroom. He took one look at Noctis trembling in a concerned Prompto's arms and then back to the two officers and Ignis before gesturing to the hallway.

“Let's talk outside. Noct's still traumatized and we shouldn't overwhelm him,” he explained. 

As soon as they stepped outside the room, Gladiolus placed himself in front of the door, unconsciously falling into a guarding stance. It wasn't that he believed these two men would hurt his tiny Prince but he couldn't help it. Noctis had been hurt and was frightened and he was determined not to allow anyone to even get another chance, their intentions – good or bad – aside.

“We'll need to see his injuries and take a report,” the younger of the two men said, “but we can discuss out here for now.” 

Ignis and Gladiolus nodded. They were unsure if Noctis would even allow the two men to come near him even with their presence. 

“Now then,” the older officer said. “You're his uncle?”

Gladiolus nodded again, crossing his arms. Close enough, he thought, and certainly good enough for these two.

“May I ask where his parents are?”

“His mother died when he was a babe.” Gladiolus' brow furrowed slightly and he paused, thoughtfully.“His father was in Insomnia when the attack happened.” 

The younger officer sucked in a sharp breath but the older one simply nodded, a faint hint of pity in his eyes.

Ignis shot him a warning glance. Gladiolus lifted his fingers from his arm and waved them briefly in assurance. He knew he had to tread carefully but it was better to give as much of the truth as they could while still protecting Noctis' identity. 

The one good thing about all of this was that all of Niflheim – and admittedly some of Lucis – was looking for a 20 year old Prince and _not_ a four year old child.

“He is listed as deceased or MIA?” the older man asked, gently. Gladiolus mouth twisted briefly. 

“Noct doesn't know,” he said by way of explanation. “We were outside the city when the attack happened and...we just haven't figured out how to tell him about the attack or about his dad.” Gladiolus left it at that. It was all completely true, if not the whole truth, but they didn't need to know any more.

“I'm sorry.” A moment of silence passed before the older officer seemed to shake himself and turned back to matter at hand. “Can you tell me what exactly happened to cause your nephew to come into contact with Hargreaves?”

“Hargreaves was that... _man's_ name?” The officer nodded and Gladiolus sighed, running a hand through his hair before waving it at Ignis. “This is my boyfriend, Ignis. He was with Noct when he went missing.”

Ignis took that as his cue to speak up. “We were in the market. I took my attention off of him for only a minute and the next thing I know Noct had gone missing. I called Gladio and Prompto – the blonde in the room – to start a search. What happened to Noct between him leaving me and coming into contact with that man, I'm not sure but from what he could tell me, he was lost and then the man just showed up.”

“No doubt he saw a child all alone and decided to take the opportunity,” the older man hummed. “That means he wasn't actively looking for or targeted your nephew. Doesn't change anything, of course, but does give us some extra information.”

Neither Ignis nor Gladiolus responded to that.

“One other thing,” the younger man broke in, “Hargreaves had a broken arm, three fractured ribs, a broken eye socket, a bullet in his shoulder and a severe concussion. He also had numerous contusions and blunt force injuries. Do you know how he got them?”

Ignis' eyes widened almost imperceptibly and he flicked his eyes at Gladiolus rapidly. The man had not had all those other injuries when he had left him for Gladiolus and Prompto to deal with.

Gladiolus' face was inscrutable.

“I have no idea,” he lied. 

The officer sighed. He did not look as if he believed Gladiolus but, for some reason, he decided not to pursue the issue. “Well, all we need to do is look at your nephew now and then we will be out of your way.”

“I doubt Noct will allow anyone near him right now,” Ignis admitted thinking back to when Noctis had first seen the men and had fled. 

“We will not touch him or come any closer than he is absolutely comfortable with,” the younger officer assured, “but we do need his injuries on file for prosecution and we need him to answer some questions.” 

Gladiolus and Ignis shared a look before Gladiolus sighed and moved to open the door. 

“We'll try.”

Prompto had abandoned the floor between the beds, his Auto-Crossbow still half-dismantled, and was sitting on one of the beds with Noctis in his lap. There were cartoonish noises coming from his phone that the both of them were watching intently but Prompto looked up and paused the video when the door opened. 

Noctis also looked up but almost instantly hunched down somewhat upon seeing the two strange men still there. He didn't seem as frightened as he'd been before but it was obvious he was still very wary of the unknown men. 

Ignis crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed, carefully stepping around the machinery on the floor. Gladiolus stayed by the door.

“Noct, these two men need to look you over and find out how you were hurt,” he said as gently as possible. Noctis flinched and shook his head, raising the Cactuar plush to bury his face in it. 

“Please, darling,” Ignis said, reaching out to pet Noctis' hair. “I promise that Gladio, Prompto, and I will be right beside you the whole time and they won't even touch you. Will you let them look at you?” 

They waited. Ignis would not force Noctis into anything he didn't want to do. If Noctis refused now, Ignis would send the men away and they would have to be satisfied with only his verbal confirmation of the injuries he'd sustained. 

Slowly, Noctis looked up at him from over the head of the plush, his eyes red rimmed. He looked up at Prompto and then over at Gladiolus next to the door. The sight of Gladiolus seemed to sooth him a little more then the other two and Ignis tried not to feel a little jealous over that. He hesitated still, though, pulling lightly at the three limp brown spikes on the Cactuar's head anxiously before he jerked his head once in approbation and moved to the edge of the bed.

Ignis tried to smile.

Noctis held both arms up to him pleadingly when he stood and Ignis scooped him up, settling the child on his hip. He only put Noctis down when he came just within arm's length of the other two men. Noctis stepped back to press against Ignis' legs, clutching the plush to him with white knuckles and gazing up at the two men. Gladiolus shifted closer, ready at an instant to step between them if the need arose. Prompto stayed on the other side of the room but moved until he had an unobstructed view of the two officers, if there was a single threatening movement then he'd have his gun brandished before anyone would be able to blink.

If the two officers noticed the warning in three's stances they didn't allude to it and, to give them credit, they were very careful and respectful of the child's boundaries. The younger man crouched down to be closer to Noctis' level, careful not to come any closer than they currently were, and he spoke kindly, not at all put off by the fact that Noctis' only responses to his gently put questions were either a nod or a shake of his head.

The two men didn't continue the interview any longer than what was absolutely necessary. As soon as they got what information they needed to help their case, they said their goodbyes. 

“Is there anything else you'll need from us?” Ignis asked as he held the door as the officers left. Noctis had turned to Gladiolus and had silently demanded to be picked up the instant he was at liberty to do so. This had left Ignis to be the one to show the men out.

“No,” the older man said, replacing his cap on his head. “Considering the situation and considering how traumatized he is, I'm going to advise that he not be called on to give a public witness account. Besides he's a minor. It should not be necessary, in any case, we have enough evidence even without your testimony to put Hargreaves in prison for a long time. We've just never been able to put our hands on him. We've got your statements and have his injuries recorded. The courts will handle everything else. If anything does come up, you'll receive a call.” 

Ignis nodded. “Thank you. Have a good day.” 

As soon as he closed the door, he turned back to the room and placed both hands on his hips levelling a look at Gladiolus. “What did you do to that man?” he asked without preamble.

Gladiolus rolled his eyes, sweeping his hand up and down Noctis' back soothingly. “Nothing like you're thinking. He tried to run and I tackled him down the damn stairs. I admit I probably used to much force but I was angry.” Gladiolus paused and then gave a one shoulder shrug. “Okay, the broken eye socket was on purpose. I punched him but I'm still not sorry.”

Ignis sighed, dropping his hands. “I probably would have done the same.” He moved back into the kitchenette and checked on the contents of the pot on the cooker. A quick taste and a slight adjustment to the seasoning was followed by Ignis calling to the others: “Lunch is ready.”

“So,” Prompto said in the ensuing silence of the meal. “What now?”

“For today, nothing,” Ignis said. “It's raining, Noct still doesn't feel well, and I for one do not wish to go anywhere or see anyone else. Tomorrow morning we'll leave for Caem. We intended to leave for Caem before all of this happened and I see no reason not to continue with that plan. Also if Noct remains how he is, Caem will be safer for him since there are more Crownsguard there and more people that we can trust to keep an eye on him.”

No one argued and Noctis went down for a nap after lunch with minimal fuss. 

Contrary to Noctis' usual habit, he had wanted Ignis with him and not Gladiolus and would not be consoled until Ignis had laid down with him. Ignis had only intended to lie there until Noctis fell asleep but he had not realised how tired he himself was and he was asleep before he knew it, half-curled protectively around Noctis' tiny form.

0-o-0-o-0

Noctis was better the next day though still not as energetic as he had been before they had reached Lestallum. He ate more than he had the day before, didn't look nearly as tired, and spoke more. He was still inclined to cling to someone throughout the morning as they packed but he switched between them easily on his own. 

There was trouble when it came time to leave the hotel. 

Noctis was afraid of leaving the safety of the room and of meeting anyone as despicable as that man again. In the end, Gladiolus had to carry him to the car as that was the only way Noctis felt even remotely safe upon leaving the room. It also made the other three feel a little less anxious. Not, of course, that they believed Noctis would be inclined to wander off but they had all been on high-alert since the incident.

Noctis kept his face buried in Gladiolus' shoulder and refused to even so much as lift his head until they had reached the Regalia. Considering that Gladiolus had thrown his jacket over Noctis' head to keep him dry – it was still raining though the rain was only a light dribble by this time – it probably didn't matter that he hadn't been interested in looking around.

They finally left Lestallum behind about mid-morning.

Noctis seemed to relax the further from the city that they got but this could have possibly been because Gladiolus had pulled up a child's novel on his phone and had read it out loud to the whole car. The story about courageous mice and other woodland creatures had interested Noctis and had pulled him fully from his withdrawn state.

Noctis had ended up in fits of laughter because of the outrageous voices that Gladiolus had adopted for each of the characters. It had been a wonderful sound and one that they had realized they had sorely missed these last two days.

Though they spotted several Magitek drop-ships, none of them had come close enough to be of any problem for them and the ride to Cape Caem was uneventful. They had left the rain behind a little below the Tollhends Stronghold allowing them to retract the roof and enjoy the sunlight. 

They arrived at Cape Caem at just after three in the afternoon, having stopped in Old Lestallum for lunch. 

There were only a handful of people around. There was the lady that ran the J & M market and a couple that had stopped to admire the lighthouse rising above the treetops. Standing near the path leading up to the lighthouse and the old lighthouse keeper's house were two men that had an air of watchfulness to them, belying their causal dress and seemingly light-hearted conversation. 

Gladiolus recognised them. They were two of the handful of Crownsguard that had escaped the fall of the city and had rallied under Cor to provide protection to the lighthouse and it's occupants. 

Noctis rubbed his eyes blearily as Gladiolus scooped him up. He had fallen asleep after lunch; his full stomach and the gentle roar of the Regalia's engine soothing him into sleep. Curious, he looked around at this new place.

There was a small copse of trees parading up the hill and bordered by natural rock retaining walls to prevent erosion. The air smelled of salt and there was a constant swooshing, thundering sound in the distance that Noctis didn't recognise. 

Over all of it was the lighthouse. 

Noctis stared up at it, having never seen anything quite so tall standing alone against the pale blue sky. There were many buildings in Insomnia taller than it but none stood alone like this or had a shape similar to the lighthouse. 

And the wind –

Noctis squawked, throwing the Cactuar plush up to protect his face as a particularly strong breeze slammed into them from down the hill and curled closer to Gladiolus. 

“Huh,” Gladiolus said. “I forgot how strong the wind gets here. Don't worry, it won't blow us away. I've got you.”

“Is this the Cae...Caem place?” Noctis blinked up at him.

“That's right. My little sister is staying here with some of the Crownsguard and there's a little boy here too. He's eight but I think you and he'll get along really well. You can play together.” 

Noctis liked the idea of being with another little boy but would an eight year old really like playing with a four year old? Maybe they wouldn't be friends even though Noctis really wanted to have a friend. 

He stayed quiet as they trudged up the sloping path to the light keeper's house. They had just reached the part of the path that branched off towards the house one way and towards the lighthouse the other when they met a man coming down from the direction of the lighthouse. 

Noctis recognized him almost instantly.

“Uncle Cor!” he cried and wiggled so energetically that Gladiolus was forced to set him on his feet or risk dropping him. The second his feet hit the ground he was running to Cor, who had started at the cry.

“Noctis! Be careful!” Ignis cried after him.

Cor blinked, surprised at the sight of the little child running at him. A little child that looked amazingly like Noctis when he was around five years old and accompanied by the Prince's retainers. One that called him 'Uncle' and that Ignis had called 'Noctis'.

He had not been called 'Uncle' since Noctis had turned five and had been allowed to attend those royal functions were other children, such as Ignis and Gladiolus (and eventually Iris), had also been able to attend. It was during that time that Noctis had been taught that he could not call Clarus or Cor as familiarly as he had done since he'd learned to talk. He had had to learn to address them by their proper titles and so the familiar appellation of 'Uncle' had disappeared.

Cor instinctively caught Noctis as soon as he was in reach, swinging him up to settle him on his hip, and stared at him, his brow furrowing. Noctis didn't seem to notice, wrapping both arms around Cor's neck in a hug. The hugs had also been something that had vanished when Noctis had stopped calling him 'Uncle'. (Which was probably for the best as Cor had always been somewhat stiff when Noctis hugged him and was even more so now.)

“If you're here, does that mean Daddy's here?” Noctis asked. Cor blinked several times and looked over at the other three. 

Gladiolus and Ignis stood up straight under his gaze while Prompto tried to hide behind them without _looking_ like he was trying to hide behind them. He had always been somewhat nervous around the Marshal of the Crownsguard.

After a moment of studying their faces, Cor turned back to Noctis.

“I'm afraid not, Your Highness. He's busy back home in the Citadel and will not have time to meet us here. You'll see him when you return to Insomnia.” Cor's ability to flat out lie without a trace of hesitation was almost scary.

“Oh, okay.” Noctis looked disappointed but very quickly seemed to shake his disappointment aside. 

Cor, whom he had actually known in amidst all the unfamiliar faces, made Noctis relax in a way that he had not been relaxed before. The change was startling. He had grown to trust Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto, it was true, but there had apparently always been a sort of wariness even around them that he didn't have around Cor and none of them really knew how to feel about that.

Noctis waved at the three men. “Gladdy and Iggy and Prompto said we're on an adventure! I've had a lot of fun.” His expression suddenly became dark. “Only I didn't like Les...Lestall...um city. The man scared me.”

“...Man?”

“We'll tell you about all of it later. A lot of stuff has happened,” Gladiolus interrupted. 

“Apparently,” Cor replied dryly. He turned towards the light keeper's house, deciding against relinquishing his hold on Noctis for the moment. It didn't look like the child was willing to let go anyway and he was not about to deal with the fuss that would result from putting him down. He had a headache already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, look it's Cor! Anyways, I think there's one chapter...maybe two left before this story will be wrapped up. Thank you guys for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 
> 
> See you next time!


End file.
